The Silver Chapter
by FortunasFollower
Summary: A new Familia, new allies and new dangers. Orario is about to get a bit more crowded.
1. Chapter 1

**SUP!**

 **Follower here!**

 **Everything good with you? I sure hope so.**

 **So, I wrote this rough draft to a Danmachi story and I wanted to see what you guys thought.**

 **This story takes place between volumes 8 and 9, but it doesn't follow the canon timeline.**

 **Hope you like it!**

 **But I do feel the need to say this. A few characters in this chapter haven't been really shown in the translated LN but I thought that it was important to put them in here. So if they seem weird or OOC, this was the reason why. I don't think it will hinder the read because they have very few lines, but if it does, I apologise.**

 **Oh, and if anyone who reads my FT story is reading this, I just wanted to say that I will be updating it this week.**

 **Ok, enough talk, let's get on the story.**

 **AVANTI!**

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

It was a normal day.

Sun was shining and birds were singing in Orario.

Since it was Wednesday, lots of adventurers were prowling the dungeon, trying to make a living or just stacking up Valis for the weekend.

As was usual, the city was bursting with possibilities. New adventurers, supporters, vendors, all looking for a different life.

Of course that wasn't going to be achieved by all of them. It may seem cruel, but there were a great number of people who died on this line of work.

Especially adventurers.

They were known to be cocky and arrogant, bravers who looked for the thrill and glory that only the Dungeon, almost a world inside the world, could provide.

You couldn't possibly count how many went into the dungeon and didn't come back. The stakes were so high that you either went prepared to bet your life or you never entered at all.

Because of the difficulty of this task, there were warriors who rose in the ranks and became stronger as times went by. They had leveled up.

Because Orario was the only place with the Dungeon, it's warriors were known as the strongest in the world, often crushing multiple kingdoms in terms of strength and skill.

That did not mean that no one tried to take it, however.

A few months ago, the kingdom of Rakia, led by the god of war Ares, had tried and failed to dominate Orario. Given the low level of his army, he was easily repelled.

Now, Ares wasn't the brightest god around. He went in hopeless battles every time just because the rush of war was too much for him. He longed to be in one and, even more, to win one.

But Ares wasn't a god of war for nothing. All gods excelled at their domains.

Hephaestus was among the best smiths in all of Genkai.

Demeter knew about agriculture like no other.

Loki was almost impossibly astute.

And Ares was a natural to wars.

He knew he wouldn't win, yet his tactics were always sound and well thought, although Loki familia's Finn Deimne always saw through them.

But the main thing about Ares was that he wasn't one to brush over his mistakes. He learnt from them. He analyzed the enemy and then he constructed something new.

Today, Ares brought something new to the city of Orario.

An alliance.

Formed by his kingdom, the kingdom of Noctus, ruled by the god of death Baron Samedi, and the goddess Eris, his army was almost triple the size when compared to last time.

But in this world, numbers didn't win wars, strength did.

And Ares knew that.

He had prepared this time. And he would taste victory.

"Enemy at the gates!", yelled a security guard atop The walls.

"Who is it?", asked the general in charge of the wall.

"It is Ares, sir! Please contact Loki Familia!".

"This guy just does not know when to quit", grumbled the general, "someone go contact Finn!".

'There goes my peace for today', he thought.

"Umm, sir?".

"Yes?".

"He's...not advancing".

"Huh. Maybe he figured out that he couldn't go head on and is trying to think some new angle".

"That is far-fetched, Louis", spoke a new voice.

"Oh, hey Finn. Got here quick", the general smiled at the Prum.

"Today's my day of helping in the wall, I met with your soldier on the way up. So what's the situation?", Finn asked.

"Well, you see, Ares has come again and, for now, has decided to just stay put some miles from here. There were no messengers or intermediaries, so he is not waiting for some answer, he is just...waiting".

Finn scrunches his eyes.

"Odd. Ares isn't one to wait. All attacks so far have been quick and when we weren't expecting it. This is new", the Prum said, deep in thought.

"Any opinions?", Louis asked.

"None that are good. Call my Familia and request all to be prepared. In addition, all personnel above level 4 is to come immediately and also please tell Riveria to select adventurers to round up Freya Familia".

Louis widens his eyes at the request.

"Do you really think this is necessary?".

"I won't make the mistake of underestimating a rival army. They are too much of a threat. Plus", he started, "my thumb is tingling like crazy".

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

After a few minutes, the squadron that Finn asked for arrived.

All the big guns from the Loki Familia were here: Tiona, Tione, Gareth, Riveria, Bete and the sword princess, Aiz Wallenstein.

But from the Freya Familia, only two came: Vana Freya, the level 6 adventurer whose real name was Allen Frommel, and the Warlord, Ottar.

Finn clicked his tongue at that.

'Of course they wouldn't all come'.

"So, what's this about, Finn?", Bete asks.

"Yes, we would very much like to know about this abrupt summons", said Allen Frommel.

Ottar, the highest leveled adventurer in Orario, just stood there silently waiting for Finn to address the issue.

The man wasn't one to take lightly the words of the Braver. Time had taught the beast man that the Prum wasn't someone to make false accusations and he definitely wouldn't have called Freya Familia if he had any other choice.

"Look there", Finn said simply.

They did.

"Aww, Ares again? That dude just doesn't know when to stop", said Tiona.

"Son of a bitch is gonna be beaten down for ruining my day off", growled Bete

"Wait, it was your day off too? Thought only I did that today", Tione said, surprised.

"Nah, I did it as well".

"And me", Tiona said as well.

"...me too", finished Gareth.

Ottar suddenly moves forward the edge and looks suspiciously to the still army.

"Man, what bad luck that idiot has, huh?", Bete laughed.

"...not bad luck", Ottar interjected.

"Can you say that again, big guy?".

"He said _not bad luck_ , you dirty mutt", jabbed Alan.

"The hell did you just say?", growled Bete.

"Bete, calm down. And Alan, no need for hostilities. I do not take kindly to people bad mouthing my Familia", threatened Finn.

Alan merely looked away.

"Could you please repeat what you said, Ottar?".

"I said it wasn't bad luck. Ares wanted all of us here".

"Why, he always loses to us. And this is one of the only times we were all here together".

"Maybe that's why. He wants to prove himself".

"No, Finn. He wants to break us. He wanted all of us so there are no excuses, like saying we didn't have enough man power. He wants us to fight seriously".

"...I see. It does make sense that he'd wait, then. But what can he possibly have that trumps us?".

"Maybe he has nothing and is bluffing? Trying to get our attention?", said Tione.

"All perimeter has been checked, they have sieged us, but no area advanced since the main fleet stopped".

"Maybe waiting for reinforcements?", tried Tiona.

"That's my bet so far. I don't know what else he might do. This just doesn't feel like Ares. It's too different".

"Yes, he changed his patterns. That is troubling", Riveria analyzed.

"Is it? He is still very underleveled here. Can we honestly expect too much trouble?".

"Dog, shut your mouth".

"Try and shut it, puss".

"Enough, Alan. I think that we should call Ganesha Familia and have him round up adventurers to help us out in a worst case scenario situation. Louis, if you please".

"Right away, Ottar".

"Wow, do we need that much firepower? I mean, it's ARES! The guy who hasn't even been able to make us sweat too much. A Minotaur is more trouble than that guy".

"The thing is", started Riveria, "Minotaurs have no sense of strategy, they just rampage or flee. Ares is a god of war and should be treated with caution. We don't know who or what is siding with him, but we need to be prepared. It's best to overthink than to panic".

"Still, it feels like were blowing this way out of proportion".

"Time will tell, Tiona, time will tell".

"So, are the preparations done, Samedi and Eris?".

"Yes they are, sir Ares", a feminine voice responded. Her voice was a hard one to describe, because at the same time it sounded trusting and extremely mischievous.

"Yes, they are already set", a masculine voice responded as well. His voice, however, was grave and resolute, with a sense of finality in every word.

"Great", Ares grinned, "then let's get started".

"Sir, Ares forces are beginning to march!", Louis yelled.

"I see. Everyone, in position!", Finn commanded.

"Yes, sir!".

"Gareth, please give them our welcome".

"Right away, Finn", he said, jumping down from the walls to the gate in front of the city.

"Squad Alfa, are you ready?".

"Hell yeah!", answered the youngest Amazon, currently leading a small 10 man team along with her sister.

"Squad Beta!".

"Ready", said Bete, with a unit of another 10 man.

"Squad Gama!".

"...ready", answered Aiz, too focused and barely having heard any sound from Finn. She too was manning a 10 people unit.

"Long range, you ready?".

"Yes!", was the answer from Riveria and Lefyia, who were chiefing units of mages, archers, gunners and the like.

"Ottar, all done?".

"Yes, all our best went to help your warriors as well".

"Louis, any word on Ganesha?".

"Already en route, Finn. They will probably arrive at the same time your teams do".

"Excellent. Hephaestus and Goibniu are active, I assume?".

"Very much so. Tsubaki is using the items we provided to send their best to help. Goibniu will be the ones in charge of forging primary weapons".

"Defenses?".

"In place and manned".

"Good. May we lose no one".

"Yes!", the Loki Familia roared.

In the ground, Gareth waited patiently for the troops to arrive.

He must have done this over a hundred times by now.

Ares shows up. He blows them away. They flee. Come again and on and on it goes.

But today was...different.

Normally, Ares's soldiers run upon seeing the powerful dwarf, but now...

They are smiling. Eagerly.

Now, Gareth has been in this for so long he knows this isn't a good sign.

Of course, he won't back down.

But it would be false to say there isn't some kind of alarm blaring in his head at this moment.

"So", he starts, "came back, eh?".

"Yes", a man with golden armor answers, "we did. And this time we'll win".

"You seem awfully sure, lad. Care to enlighten me why?".

"You prefer a theorical or a practical lesson?".

"Why not both? I'd like to know all the fuss about whatever it is that left you all so hyped up".

"Sure then. Clench your jaw".

And then the man rocketed towards Gareth.

The dwarf stumbled after seeing such speed, but managed to recover in time and blocked a punch with his forearm, skidding a few meters.

"What the hell? You weren't even level 3 last time! Where is this strength coming from?".

"That is the theorical part of the explanation. It's thanks to _Areios_ ".

" _Areios_?"

"It's a drug that enables us to up our levels for 24 hours or until we're defeated. I've had three, so I'm basically a high level five now".

"Lies. That is impossible".

"Not when Samedi, Eris and Ares do something together, it isn't. Gods have infused their holy power in it, making it usable".

"Still, no mortal could take that".

"True", he agreed, "that's why after a triple dose such as mine, our body shuts down".

"You're mad! Giving you life like this? It's dishonorable!".

"Perhaps", he shrugged, cracking his neck, "but I much prefer no honor and Orario than honor and nothing".

"You'll have to go through me first".

He licks his lips.

"Oh, I'm counting on it".

And he charged again.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"GUARD THE GATES!", shouted Louis.

 _Areios_.

This information was preocupating.

If the enemy had level booster items, who went as far as jump three levels, the situation was dire.

First off: there was no way of knowing if the enemy had a lot or very little soldiers who could make a jump that drastic. The fact that the whole army was sieging Orario meant that such soldiers were scattered, having no way of knowing where they were was something very bad.

Second: it was now confirmed the theory of an alliance.

Ares, war. Eris, discord. Samedi, death.

Those 3 were not very fond of the gods. Neither were the gods very fond of them.

Actually, for some, their happiest was when they had got to subjugate the other.

The idea of making a near invincible being bow before you was a thrill like no other.

To see your brethren kneel and ask for mercy...

Eris never had enough of it.

Samedi was an exception to the ruthless two by his side.

As a god of death, he felt it was his responsibility to not let anyone stain the soul of all who bravely gave their everything for their house, their family.

It was a disgrace to even consider soiling such a pure legacy.

But such was war. A mix of unpleasant, depressing happenings who never stopped.

A clash of ideals from two puppeteers fought by their marionnetes.

It was foolish to think that, whoever it was that emerged victorius, was indeed a winner.

But since Ares had promised him some very tempting things, Samedi didn't think twice about agreeing to this little offensive.

Especially after he knew about _Areios_.

Made from the finest ingredients, each vial had essence of one of the gods.

All warriors had 1 vial.

Some took two.

Elites of the opposing armies took 3.

Now very much on par, Ares knew things would be different for the defending kingdom, seeing as their normal strategies relied, due to their diminute size, on overpowering enemies coordinatingly. But now Finn couldn't do that, if he sent his ace squads all together, there was no telling what Ares planned.

Not to mention the other two gods.

Eris and Samedi weren't known in Genkai all that much. They mostly stayed to themselves, just sometimes being gossiped.

So to recap: Orario was against a known, mysteriously strong opponent who may or may not be coordinating his units with other unknown, mysterious foes.

Or as Finn said so eloquently:

"Shit".

'This is really bad, the forces are approaching and the Ballista unit isn't slowing them down enough', thought an agitated Finn, 'at this point, they will most likely be able to enter town'.

" **Finn! Ottar!** ", roared a voice from outside the gates.

Ares stood tall, armor colored black and red.

" **I have a proposal to make this more interesting** ", he started.

" **As you know, my army has an undeniable superiority when compared to yours. So I am proposing something to make this a little more entertaining** ".

" **I will tell you whose armies will attack each sides. How does that sound?** ".

"And what do you gain from this?".

" **Nothing. I merely wish to have a battle that might humor me. We both know you cannot possibly hope to counter this** ".

Finn gritted his teeth.

Ottar clenched his jaw.

Ares laughed.

The god was toying with them. He finally had an advantage and he was thoroughly enjoying his dominance.

" **Eris's will attack the left side. Samedi's, the right . Me, well, I will storm your front gate** ".

"How can we possibly believe such a statement?".

Ares's grin gets wider.

" **You have 10 minutes to choose if you will believe me or not. It's up to you, _Braver_ and _Warlord_. I hope you make the right decision**".

And so Ares walked back to his army.

The whole way, every step, was watched by Finn, whose nails drew blood from the fists he made.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"Everyone, in position!".

While Ares was talking with Ottar and Finn, Loki had taken the roll of leader for the troops in standby.

"Hephaestus, Ganesha, you will be our main forces. We need to resist until our emergency plans are ready to be deployed. Can I count on you?".

"Yes, goddess Loki. All warriors from Hephaestus Familia will give their life for this city, I can assure you", said Tsubaki Collbrande, level 5 and captain of the biggest smithing Familia.

A roar of approval accompanied her.

"So will us, goddess Loki. Ganesha is the god of the people, and his forces will fight for them until their last breath", said Shakti Varma, captain of Ganesha Familia, also level 5.

"Very well. I thank you for your valor and I only ask to hold out until we have fully mobilized".

"Yes, goddess!".

Loki smiled. If the situation weren't so grim, she might've bought everyone a round on the Hostess of Fertility right that instant.

But, hopefully, she'll to do that later.

Now, they needed to focus on winning.

"Goibniu, Soma, Hestia Familias will act as backup".

"The first two will be defending the front gate along with Hephaestus and Ganesha. Stay behind them and support if you are level 2 or below. Above level 3 will join in the primary forces".

"Hestia Familia, you notice anyone entering town, strike them down immediately. We cannot let anyone in. You do not have the numbers to help the front lines, other than Bell Cranel, so you will act with the smaller familias as the last line of defense".

Loki sharply looked at the white haired boy now, who gulped.

"If push comes to shove, can I trust that you will defend us?", she asked seriously.

Loki was almost always laughing or at least grinning, so this serious expression on her face seemed alien to many of the people there.

Bell coughed a bit at seeing such a look, but sobered immediately.

"Yes, goddess Loki. We will not let anyone go through us".

Loki smiled again.

'Such a shame he's in Itty-Bitty's Familia. We could always use someone with his talent'.

"Then I leave it to you".

She looks up.

"All-father, may fate be with us".

 **On the right side of Orario**.

"What the hell is with those guys?!", cursed Tiona.

"Yeah, this isn't some damn power up, they're getting more vicious as it goes!", Bete agreed.

'So it warps the mind as it goes, making them irritated...', thought Tione.

"Everyone, they are getting sloppy! Put pressure now!", Jormungand ordered.

 **On the front.**

"Don't this assholes stop? I feel like I've defeated about 40 of them!", Raul, from Loki Familia yelled.

"I agree, they seem to keep coming no matter how many we put down. We need to break out of here somehow", Riveria said.

"Ganesha, deploy the Monster Squad now!", Loki commands.

"Understood!", a member of Ganesha Familia responds, pulling a lever.

Gates by the entrance of the kingdom wall open, and off of it came Silverbacks, black rhinos, war shadows and dozens of different monster tamed by the Ganesha Familia.

 **At the other side of the battlefield.**

" **Nice pets** ", whispered Ares, " **but mine are bigger** ", he says, snapping his fingers.

And from the horizon, it seemed that the world had become the dungeon for a moment, because of the number of harpies, hellhounds, Minotaurs and something that made all adventurers grit their teeths.

The enemy had one ice dragon.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Lefiya, in charge of a section of mages, ordered the attack against the airborne monsters to be priority.

The elf knew she was way out of her league here, but she couldn't afford to be scared now. Any hesitation could cost lives, and she was not gonna let anyone get hurt.

"FIRE!", she ordered.

All other airborne monsters were shot down before long, but one resisted without being scratched.

The ice dragon merely looked irritated at the attacks.

'Damn, it didn't go down'.

"IT'S COMING! KEEP BATTERING IT", Lefyia yelled.

'I won't let it', thought a certain white haired boy, running up the stairs leading to the top of the wall, his breakneck speed getting even faster each new step.

"MAGES, STOP IT! IT'S GOING NO INFILTRATE THE KINGDOM!", Lefyia screams, worry evident in her voice.

'No, it won't', the white haired youth thought, forcing his legs even more.

"IT ISN'T GOING DOWN, SIR!", a mage responded. Nothing seemed to work, it was like it knew what they were attacking him with and protected itself by dodging or attacking and cancelling blows.

"THEN STALL IT, MAKE IT GO BACK!", she yelled, desperate for something that would take them out of this situation.

'I refuse to let it in!', he forces himself to the limit, his leg bones already at breaking point.

"IT'S TOO CLOSE! WE CAN'T MANEUVER IT IN TIME!", another yelled. The dragon was now too close to the wall.

"It's over", a mage says, disheartened.

But right at this moment, Bell speeds through the upper tower and jumps, almost flying over the mages that couldn't send the dragon away.

"I WON'T LET YOU!", he screams.

All around, people turned their heads to see a little white haired boy jumping towards an ice dragon.

In special, one elf watched the scene with fascination.

The monster only opened it's mouth, keen on having the adventurer as a meal.

"Firebolt", he yelled.

The magic hit the winged menace on its teeth, taking the dragon by surprise and making it lose it's composure for enough time to Bell take out his knives and plunge into the beasts back.

"ROOOOAAAARRRR!".

"Shut up", Bell said weakly, trying to steady himself.

The dragon danced and flew the most acrobatics of flights, twisting and turning.

The dragon roared once more.

"I said shut up! Firebolt!".

Much like it happened with the Minotaur, the fire was burning the insides of the dragon who, because of its natural affinity, suffered greatly.

"ROOOOAAAARRRR!".

"QUIET! FIREBOLT!", Bell screamed, infusing a lot of mana in this attack.

At this the dragon lost altitude, heading towards the wall.

The one structure standing between the enemy and Orario.

'No, no ,no, please don't', Bell panicked, trying to think of some way out.

The only way he knew would've helped was Argonaut, but there was no way an immediate charge would be enough.

The dragon was gonna impact, and then Orario would fall.

Unless...

'Goddess will be angry but that's the only way', he thought, steeling himself.

"MAGES! I need you to aim at this dragon! Use anything that repells it from the walls, don't worry about element, just send something strong!".

"But what about you, we can't...", a mage questioned.

"Forget about me! Just hit so hard that this monster is pushed back! Taking him down is our priority, by whatever means necessary!".

"But...".

"Do it", ordered Lefyia.

"Sir...".

"He made up his mind, we will honor his wishes", she said, voice hard and leaving no space for argument.

"...yes, sir".

'You best survive this, Little Rookie, I haven't beaten you yet', the elf thought before crying out her order.

"COMPANY, REPEL THAT BEAST!".

As the leader shouted this, a myriad of colors flew towards the dragon, barraging it with all attacks possible: elements swirled and slashed while light and dark danced leaving scarlet lines around it's snow white torso.

But it wasn't enough.

Although hurt and visibly shaken, the dragon started to move it's wings, surely to gain some altitude and counter.

But the dragon, amidst this barrage, forgot one essential thing.

The hitchhiker in its back.

As he got to enter and challenge the dungeon more and more, Bell had started to acquire a more analytical mentality than he had in his start as an adventurer. He tried to put together patterns or any info he knew about his opponents to be ready and be more effective during prowling.

He didn't just believe everything would work out. He began to, as ironic as it may sound, given his skill, make his own luck.

And right now, he had prepared a 10 second charge Argonaut which would, he expects, at least take it off the air.

"FIREBOLT!", he unleashed the boosted attack just like with the Minotaur, with his knives acting as conductants.

While previous attacks had made the dragon screech and thrash, this one smoked it from the inside.

Yes, the force was enough to fatally injure the dragon, but Bell was so focused on beating it that he didn't stop to think about a slightly important issue.

He was in the air all this time, riding the beast.

But now that the beast in question was not even conscious, the white haired boy had no way to steer it to safety.

Already hurt from the magic barrage and tired from all the magic he used, Bell's arms started to lighten their grip, not being able to take much more.

And then, the dragon hit the ground.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

The great body broke through the ground and bounded a few meders before ceasing it's brute landing.

All the path until the location the corpse stopped was covered in dust from the ground, making the whole place impossible to see through. On the place it stopped, there was also the black smoke that came with the desintegration of the monster, signalling it had finally went down.

Time slowed for all in the vicinity.

"No", whispered Ryuu.

"Poor lad", said Gareth

"Idiot", exhaled Bete.

"Argonaut...", said Tiona, her eyes blurry from the tears that threatened to fall.

Tione, however, didn't look towards the smoke and dust coming from the crater near the wall.

She looked to a certain sword princess.

Aiz was transfixed.

It wasn't like she knew the boy well. They had hung out on one feast with their gods and trained, but as far as friendly experiences go, they shared few of those.

And you could say her interest had stemmed from his incredible growth.

Yes, she didn't have a reason to be too bad about this. Adventurers died every day, some from her guild, and she accepted it.

But...

At some point, the boy had apparently become bigger than that.

He became a friend.

He became someone she held dear.

Someone that reminded her of herself on better days, and that cleansed her heart just by being around.

The battle continued, but the blonde just looked at the smoke and dust.

'Come on...', she pleaded.

Her hand tightens it's hold on her sabre.

'Please'.

Now, Aiz didn't believe in miracles.

She hoped like anyone else, of course, but for her, things weren't so mystical.

Her goddess had numerous times said how strange it was that she talks to gods and fights a plethora of monsters but _fate_ wasn't something she could believe.

But when she saw a small frame appear out of the billowing smoke, she sure was a believer, if only for a second.

The Little Rookie walked, legs pretty much dragging, various cuts and blood all over him.

Unconsciously, Ryuu put a hand over her rapidly beating heart and took a deep breath. Leave it to Bell to be the biggest scare during a war.

Reigning over herself, she went back to the fray.

One eye partially swollen and shut, he used the other to clearly see the battlefield.

The enemy was approaching. Slowly, but it was.

The monster Squad, specifically the dragon, and the _Areios_ were a great shock to the Orario adventurers.

Morale needed to increase now.

Now, Bell knew he wasn't the one that should do this.

He wasn't imposing, not with his current half dead look.

He wasn't strong. Virtually every guild member next to him was, at least, a level higher than him.

He wasn't a leader. Sure, he was his Familias captain, but if he were to be honest, Lily was the one who made the soundest decisions and Welf has always been his rock, helping whenever he needed it.

He knew all that painfully well.

But, the thing is...

He made a promise to goddess Loki that he was gonna defend everyone.

And he'll be damned if he isn't at least able to honor his own words.

"We will not fall! We will not surrender! WE! WILL! PREVAIL!", he roared, his dry throat hurting from the force he was using in his voice. Not that he cared much about that, there were way more pressing matters at hand than a dry throat.

"Those who are too hurt to head into the fray, go back to Orario and let me shoulder your responsibilities! No one will destroy our home! I PROMISE!".

"We need to win this! There is no space for defeat! Let's do this for our friends. For our Familias. For our gods and goddesses. FOR VICTORY!".

In all honesty, it wasn't the best speech.

Finn could have spit a better one on the fly.

Even Bete could have said something better.

But the combination of his near dead state and the bravado he showed was enough.

The first one to react was the warrior dubbed Jormungand.

"Get back to Orario, Bell", said Tione.

"Tione...".

"We got this. The other Familias may need your help, so use that quick feet of yours and make yourself useful elsewhere", completed Bete, a bit softer than usual.

As much as he hated to admit, the kid really had shined.

"Here! Drink this, Argonaut!", Tiona said, handing him a pouch full of vials. If one were to see her eyes, they would see that they were a bit puffy from crying.

"But...".

"We're fine, and there's more with our supporters, so just down those and go help everyone".

"Let us handle this...", Aiz finished, nodding resolutely to him.

Bell could only nod back, smiling.

"Got it! Good luck!", he said while drinking the potions.

Normally he wouldn't use them all like this, but hey...

Desperate times and all that.

"Nothing to do with luck, kid", said Bete, "it's about true strength versus borrowed strength".

In a split second, the werewolf closes the distance between him and the enemy and roundhouses a soldier through a tree.

"And borrowed strength isn't nearly enough to beat us".

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"Damnit, it'll take forever to get there by foot", Bell cussed.

Although he had a free way towards the gates, it was still considerably far, even more so when your legs were completely exhausted a few moments ago.

"Would you mind some help?", a robed figure said.

"Fels!".

"Hello, Bell. Seems like you have seen better days".

"Can't argue there", he laughed, "what are you doing here, I thought you kept hidden most of the time".

"I do, but this is a special case. You adventurers need all the help you can get".

"We sure do. Ares has really put up a great fight so far", he agreed, "but what kind of help can you give me?".

Fels transports him back to his Familia.

"This one", he said, "now you better brace yourself".

"More enemies?", he tensed.

"Not quite", Fels laughed, disappearing.

Suddenly a body barrages his.

A small body.

"BELL!", Lili says, crying a bit, "oh, dear...".

Bell's armor is dented so much that Welf deemed it unfit just by shooting a quick glance.

The Ruby's were broken, the metal weak and honestly, it had been so mistreated and battered that using it offered less protection than a cotton shirt.

"What were you thinking, you idiot!", cried Welf. Now Welf wasn't really angry at Bell. If anything, he looked to be pissed off that his latest armor wasn't at all what he sought to do.

'Gonna have to remedy it's magic absorption', he thought to himself.

Lili, on the other hand, wasn't as forgiving.

"Try something like that again and I will personally make sure the dragon EATS YOU!", she said while punching him lightly on the head.

"I'm sorry, guys, but it was the only thing that came to mind", he said, sheepishly.

"REALLY? NOTHING ELSE? NO OTHER DAMN IDEA CAME TO YOU?".

"I mean, not one that worked, at least".

"OH, THAT JUST EXPLAINS EVERYTHING, HUH? SILLY ME TO...".

"I THINK WHAT LIL' E MEANS", interrupted Welf, "is that we were worried, so please don't scare us like that again, ok?".

"S-sure, sorry".

"It's fine, now how about we get our heads in the game and stay sharp".

"You got it!".

Lili agrees, although not pleased by this situation.

And for the first time since the offensive started, there was one emotion trumping fear.

Hope.

Hope that the tide had turned.

"ENEMIES CLOSING IN!".

"What's with this ridiculous number? They just keep coming!".

"Our forces are tired, and they have an indefinite supply of soldiers on steroids. We need to do something quick, this cannot be a game of endurance, we'll lose it".

"ENEMIES AT THE GATE!".

"Shit".

"EVERYONE, GET READY".

Bell tightened his muscles in anticipation, both knives viciously trapped in his grip.

Welf adjusted his body, aligning the great sword he brought towards what would soon be a swarm of enemy soldiers.

Lili started setting traps along alleys and in few key points of the street so no surprise attacks and also adding the shock factor to the defense forces. After that,she reloaded her hand crossbow.

Haruhime had stayed behind. Since the gods might need protection, members of every Familia stood back to be a last line.

Uchide no Kozuki was gonna be far more important there if someone passed the line of defense.

A figure lands next to Bell.

"Ryuu...", Bell smiled at the elf.

"They asked me to help out back", she said, a bit angry.

Ryuu was in really bad shape. Her clothes torn, she was covered in sweat and cuts, the red of blood staining her white shirt and green hood.

Bottom line was: she was in no condition to be on the front lines anymore, but here amongst the level 3 she could be useful and also take a breather all the while helping against the enemy mob.

"Sorry, we'll really need your help".

"It's okay".

A few seconds pass before she continues.

"Hey, Crannel".

"Yes?".

"Please, watch out", she said earnestly.

"I made a promise to goddess Loki", he responded, smiling, "I'm not gonna lose".

Ryuu smiled.

"INCOMING!".

The gates were destroyed.

Hundreds of soldiers marched in, yelling their battle cries.

And then the final battle began.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

At the front of the gate, Raul was amongst the leading members against the offensive.

"THEY'VE STORMED THE GATE!".

It wasn't going well.

"Shit!".

"We have to go back!", Raul yelled.

"We can't! If we do, then all this side will be open for entry", Shakti rebutted.

"But there's no one near level 4 inside! We have only levels 3, 2 and 1!".

"It's the same with Ares main forces! If we go now, then all levels 5 and 6 here will also enter, and our chances of victory will disappear!".

"I don't like it either, but we have to do our part".

"Shit", he cursed again, while knocking out another soldier.

In another place, a group of adventurers were only observing the battle.

So, we're gonna go help them or not?", one of the members of the Bringar, the one with a sword, asked.

"Or not, lady Freya asked us to stay put after _fighting_ with Eris", another member of the Brimgar answered, this one holding an axe.

"Yeah, who would've thought she had already talked with Eris about this", commented another one, holding a spear.

"So we're just supposed to wait it out?", said the final member of the elite Prum team, this one holding a hammer.

"Yes, she wants us to stay out of this fight".

"Why?".

"Two reasons: first, she wants to scout Loki's forces, make sure she is not gonna be a problem in the future".

"And the second one?".

"She wants to see if the Hestia kid can make it through by his own power".

"Isn't he only level 3? Of course he can't. He'll die".

"And then his soul is hers. Doesn't really matter if he fails".

"Poor kid doesn't know what's coming to him".

"Ignorance sure is bliss, huh?".

Ottar just kept silent.

The battle was raging at the entrance to Orario. Lesser Familias were occupying different points of the city to make sure no one advanced.

The way the forces fought was nothing short of admirable. They were all fighting for their homes, and going all out.

Welf had been really busy. Although he was a companion to Bell in the front lines, the dungeon was a different thing from a war against another kingdom. Monsters, at least the ones Welf had encountered so far, were governed by instinct, something that, while trustful, can be manipulated.

If you give your back to a hellhound, it will attack. After all, it's a great opportunity to land a blow.

But at the same time, it is surprisingly easy to bait them into doing this. Of course, if you are against a pack, they will adapt to you fight style and anull it, but against small groups it almost always worked like a charm.

But warriors weren't governed by instinct, they were lead by it. It may seem similar, but that is a crucial difference.

Being governed clouds your mind and makes you only choose one option. Being lead gives you one path to take but does not dismiss all others.

And while there are warriors who attack based only on the path that instinct gives, there are those who keep an open mind and try to find breaches on the enemies defense.

To Welf's chagrin, he only seemed to duel with those from the latter group.

'This is such a pain in the ass!'.

Lili wasn't faring much better.

She had a great supply of armament to use, and her years as a stealthy combatant did give her a great advantage,but there was one big problem Lily couldn't circumvent.

Her level.

She was only level 1, and also a not very strong one.

So much time without being able to update her status had severely slowed down her progression pace.

So although she was being successful in stopping enemies from afar, she was almost doomed if any got through.

And unfortunately, that's what happened.

One particularly fast soldier had dodged Lili's arrows and made a beeline for her, keen on taking out someone who was thinning the entry of soldiers.

"I got you now!", he yells.

Bell saw this, and forgetting the enemy in front of him, he charges forward.

"LILI!".

"Bye, little Prum!".

"NO!".

Bell sprang towards the attacker, hitting his ribs so violently that his bones shattered on impact.

"You okay, Lili?".

"Y-yes, thank you".

"You're welcome", he smiled, before turning his gaze back to the fight.

The situation wasn't good.

It was horrible, really.

There were downs on both sides, but thanks to the large difference in numbers, the defense was not making much progress.

'We've been able to hold it till now, but things aren't looking good'

Welf had already used the magic sword to detain a large number of them.

Lili was almost out of arrows and tricks.

All forces were exhausted.

Bell gritted his teeth.

'I need to do something'.

He weighed his options. He could try and solo the enemies inside, but that wouldn't help with the enemies entering at alarming rates and would tire him too much.

As one of the only level 3 around, that was too risky.

Maybe he could switch to the front lines to help slower the number of soldiers, but then again the defense needed every adventurer here. Everyone counted.

And then there was his last resort. A fully charged Argonaut strike towards the entrance. If it worked against the Goliath, surely it would work here.

But the situation wasn't like it was on the 18th floor.

Bell was way more tired and out of energy now. There were no more potions and if he did that, he would most likely collapse.

So do nothing and keep on fighting or do something but pass out.

Bell really hated both options.

He looked towards the battle.

At any minute, someone would fall and it would all be over.

Was the risk worth taking?

He knew Argonaut wasn't even gonna be a third of what it was against the Goliath.

But even so, it would be hella strong and could wipe out a good number of people.

But, again, was it worth it?

Bell didn't have time to choose.

A member of Ganesha Familia collapsed by the entrance, and a surge in enemies occured.

He didn't have time to cast Argonaut anymore.

He gritted his teeth again.

'If only I used it sooner'

Bell ran towards the enemies, kicking and slashing his way.

'I have to buy us some time. Maybe Freya or Loki Familia are done fighting and they're coming to help', he thought to himself.

Unlikely, he knew.

But they needed something unlikely to win this.

"Firebolt!", he cast, trying to slow them down.

The fatigue from casting made his legs wobble, but he recovered immediately.

Nahza was offering support with her bow from the rooftops, but still wasn't enough to slow them down.

It was overwhelming them.

Ryuu was also fatigued, choosing to try and incapacitate them instead of knocking them out at this point.

After all, it would give her time to strike upcoming enemies and them finish them off.

But her movements had slowed.

Another adventurers collapsed, this time from Soma Familia.

It was over now.

They've lost.

'NO, I REFUSE TO BELIEVE THAT', he thought.

"WE WILL NOT LOSE!", he roared.

And so a grand bell was heard.

It paralyzed the enemy for a few seconds trying to figure out where it came from, looking for the source.

All they saw was a white haired kid with glowing knives.

"QUICK, KILL THAT KID!".

10 seconds charged.

Ryuu stopped the closest ones from advancing.

15 seconds.

Welf covered Bell's side from an attack, knocking the soldier out with a pommel strike.

20 seconds.

Lili used her last arrows to keep soldiers at Bay.

25 seconds.

All forces joined to keep everyone from Bell.

They made a chain, never letting anyone pass.

All that tried going through the alleys or rooftops fell in Lili's traps.

The supporter smirked at that.

All adventurers gave their last bit of strength to help.

But they were too tired, and it didn't take long for the pressure on the chain to become to much.

Fortunately, it didn't matter.

60 seconds, that's how much time he was able to charge.

A full minute, and counting, Argonaut charge was ready.

"CLEAR THE WAY NOW!", he shouted.

Everyone quickly moved over, and the rabbit went on the offensive.

He always thought of a hero when he used Argonaut, but this time was different.

This time, he thought of a queen.

 _Antianeira_. He remembered the previous Ishtar Familia member, Aisha Belka.

How much power she had. How resolute she was.

But mainly, he remembered her spell.

 _Hell Kaios_.

A shark's fin that destroyed everything in its path.

He remembered that power. He remembered how it destroyed everything.

So, imitating Aisha, he plunged his knives in the ground and released all power he had left.

Atop Babel tower, Freya was observing every move the kid made.

"I don't think I can wait until he dies in battle. He just keeps getting better and better", she said breathlessly.

The goddess smiled seductively towards the boy.

"I may just have to steal you sooner".

Back at the battlefield, there was only one thing to see.

A white light.

That's what the enemy viewed bursting from the floor.

They saw a wave of energy coming their way.

"DODGE IT!".

But they couldn't. It's one thing to dodge a simple spell, like firebolt.

It's another to dodge a tidal wave.

It wasn't just a moving wave. Every distance it had already traveled, it stayed and then exploded.

There was no escaping it.

A line of light that extended until after the gate appeared, knocking out all soldiers that came in contact with it.

Finally, there were no conscious enemies in sight.

They won.

They've actually did it.

Joy spread through their veins.

The fatigue, finally catching up to them, made all fall down.

Sweat trickling down their entire bodies.

Finally they could relax.

"MORE ENEMIES INCOMING".

"...what?".

More soldiers entered the gate.

"You have got to be kidding me!".

"It still wasn't enough?".

"All our energy is gone...this is it? This is how it ends?".

'No, I can't let that happen'.

Bell tried standing up, but, as he feared, using Argonaut had drained him.

He fell to his knees, coughing blood and with his head spinning.

"BELL!".

"I have...to help... can't let them...win", he tried to say, between ragged breaths.

But that's when he saw _them_.

He saw people jumping from the rooftops and facing the enemy.

He saw lots of adventurers coming to help. He saw the relief in their comrades eyes when they were handed potions and water.

"Loki...or Freya?", he murmured.

But the last thing he saw was a woman with red hair and red eyes, who caught him just as he was gonna fall.

"Don't worry, your companions are being taken care of. Now, you should rest", the girl said, "we, Artemis Familia, will end this war".

And then he passed out.


	2. Chapter 2

**SUP!**

 **FOLLOWER HERE!**

 **And today I bring you the second chapter for this story.**

 **This follows a line similar to the eighth volume of the Light Novel, as in it serves as a more setup kind of read.**

 **Since I did introduce a new Familia last chapter and it was majorly focused on fighting, I had to break the momentum so it doesn't get too rushed.**

 **Anyways, I think I've talked long enough.**

 **I hope you enjoy this chapter and, if you want, post a review so I can see what you thought about it!**

 **See ya!**

 **AVANTI!**

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Bell awoke with a start.

His body drenched in sweat, the boy looked feverishly for his companions, only to come up empty.

He reckoned he was at a room much like the ones at the Hostess of Fertility. A single bed, a dresser...but with no signs of Lily and Welf.

A cold grip started to squeeze his throat, the pain of losing his friends, his Familia, was too much to bear.

He tried standing up by propping his arms, but he found out that they were almost useless. Not being able to maintain even a fraction of his body upright, Bell started to twist and tense the muscles in his legs to see if they were as spent as the ones in his arms.

He found out they were worse.

So he couldn't get up and he also couldn't walk.

 _Wonderful_.

But maybe he wasn't in trouble.

He wasn't tied or anything, his armor and weapons were by his side in a chair, there were potions stacked right next to him...

All in all, the Little Rookie didn't feel much threatened by this place.

"You up, Rook?", asked a voice from the other side of the door.

Bell got a bit agitated when he didn't recognize the voice, but rationalized that maybe he should give whoever it was the benefit of the doubt after taking care of him.

"Yes, I am", he responded.

The door opened to show an alburn haired girl. Her age and height about the same as Aisha's.

And so was her beauty.

Bell was transfixed.

Her eyes had the color of ambar, and her face had the regal air of royalty, from the thin lips to her pointed ears.

'A High-Elf, huh', Bell figured.

"If you're done staring, how about we start trying to patch you up?", she quipped.

"OH, I-I'M SO VERY, VERY SORRY!", Bell almost yelled, embarrassed.

"Relax, Rook, just messing with you", she said, smiling, "pardon me if this sounds convinced, but I'm quite used to this reaction".

"Right...but still, sorry about that, miss...".

"Faye. And it's fine".

"So, miss Faye...".

"Just call me Faye. Adding that _miss_ makes me feel a bit old".

Now, being a High-Elf, it was a very possible scenario that she was hundreds of years old.

'Best not to say that', Bell decided.

"So, mi...I mean, Faye", he corrected upon seeing her frown, "how long have I been unconscious?".

"About a week".

"A WEEK?", he screamed.

"Dammit, my hearing is sensible, no need to yell", she said, flinching from the outburst, "and yes, a week. You were lucky to be alive, for that matter. That battle really did a number on you".

"Battle...", he whispered.

That's right, the war against Rakia.

Wait...

The war!

"WHERE IS MY FAMILIA? IS EVERYONE OKAY?", he exploded again.

"Again, sensitive hearing, no need to destroy my eardrums", she reprimanded him, who shrunk under her gaze, "they are fine. Worried, of course, but no one was as injured as you".

"I'm glad".

"You really love them, don't you?", she smiles.

"I do", he smiles back.

"I'm like that with my Familia too. We are all one big, disfunctional family".

"From which Familia are you? I don't remember seeing you around Orario before".

"That's because we barely stop by here. We're busy with excursions so we don't stick around. Oh, and we're Artemis Familia, by the way".

"Artemis...", he repeated.

Somewhere in his mind, Bell was sure that he remembered someone else saying that was his or hers Familia too, but he let it go.

The goddess of the moon. Of the hunt. Of wildlife.

And because of yesterday, probably a goddess of victory as well

"Oh, I didn't even know lady Artemis had a Familia".

"Oh, she has. A ridiculously big one. We often separate so we can take care of all our jobs and contracts".

"Contracts?".

"Yes, we are not your usual Familia, you see", Faye laughed, "we are a surface hunting Familia".

"Surface hunting?".

"You really do ask a lot, don't you, Rook?".

"Sorry...".

"It's fine, it's only natural to be confused given your circumstances. I heard you've began your career as an adventurer not so long ago. You have an impressive record, if I may say so".

"T-Thank you, but I haven't done anything so extraordinary".

"It's good to have humility, Rook, but you must also learn to be more proud. There is no sin in being proud in your achievements".

Faye sits down on the edge of Bell's bed.

"Well, surface hunting means that we take jobs hunting down monsters or wanted criminals outside of the dungeon. We're probably the best Familia there is in this business. We do it in the dungeon as well but for the most part we stay above ground".

"Oh, so you're bounty hunters?".

Faye's eye's darken.

"Don't clump us with those degenerates. We go after only those who need and or deserve being apprehended. Bounty hunters are just hired guns with no moral compass".

"Oh, forgive me, I didn't know the difference", Bell apologizes again.

"It's fine, I overreacted a bit. It just gets on my nerves".

A minute passes.

"So, Faye, where exactly am I?".

"Oh, right, forgot you were unconscious before arriving", she laughs, embarrassed, "we are in a bar called Hostess of Fertility, in Orario".

"We are in Mia's bar?".

"Oh, you know her?".

"Yes, I come here often with my Familia. It's like a second home to me".

Faye smiles.

"Well, I'm glad you say that, because the feeling seems to be mutual".

Bell cocks his head to the side, confused.

"What do you mean?".

"Well, the staff has been operating with one less person ever since you were _admitted_. Apparently, Mia asked her staff to always have someone caring for the wounded, but even though you're the only one still bedridden she kept letting one girl around you all the time, for when you woke up".

"Really? She did that for me?".

"Well, when I asked her she denied it, but about five minutes later she sent someone to wait in your room so my guess is that she's just too proud to admit it".

Bell felt really happy.

He never denied how much they meant to him, but he also never gave much thought about the degree at which they reciprocated his friendship.

To him, it didn't matter much if they didn't greet him on the streets as long as they were happy.

To know that they cared as much about him a he did for them made him feel truly blessed.

"I don't even know how to start thanking them...".

"Don't worry, Mia said that she would consider it even if you spent a lot of money next time you stopped for dinner with your Familia".

Bell sweatdropped.

"Of course she did", he laughs a bit.

"But I also need to thank you, Faye".

Bell then used all the strength he had to prop himself up enough so that he could bow his head to the elf.

"Thank you for caring for my Familia and me. I am in your debt, so if there is anything you'd like, please, ask away".

"H-hey, stop that, lift your head".

Bell did.

Faye had an extremely flustered face.

'Even though it happens all the time, I think she doesn't deal well with the attention'.

"But to be honest, your Familia already offered her mansion for us to stay in, so there's no need for you to do anything".

"Oh, so you're staying with us?".

"Yep".

"Wait, why didn't I go to my Familia's home, then? If everyone is fine and there's such a strong Familia with us, then why am I still in the Hostess?".

"Well, two waitresses here were really adamant in keeping you around in case anyone tried to take you out. Goddess Hestia wasn't at all thrilled about it, but she was eventually won over by god Miach, god Takemikazuchi and goddess Artemis".

"Two waitresses?".

"Yes, I believe their names were Ryuu and...Sylvia, I think?".

"Sylvia? Do you mean Syr?".

"Yes, that's the one".

"They've done so much for me...".

"Of course they did, you are a close friend of them. Also, having you around has done wonders for the bar's publicity".

"It has?".

"Yeah. Apparently, this and the battle with the Apollo Familia made you a superstar who clutches the win at the last moment".

"But I didn't give us a win, I passed out...you guys are the real heroes".

"You nearly gave your life for this city, you saved I don't even know how many people and you were possibly the most fundamental reason as to why we didn't lose Orario before my Familia came".

Faye gets up and goes for the door.

"Perhaps you weren't the one responsible for the victory in the end", she says, opening the door, "but you definitely were the one that made us persist. Never forget that".

Faye then closes the door, and Bell's arms give out, making him fall in his pillow.

The white haired boy then falls asleep again, but this time, with a smile on his face.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"How did this happen?", asked Finn.

"We don't know. All three gods in this alliance of Ares aren't really on the radar. No connections or attempts to establish communications with other Familias. This is as shocking to us as it is to you", answered Loki.

This whole debacle was the talk of all Orario.

Ares is, or was, someone predictable. He may be one hell of a general, but his army never put up much of a fight because of the difference in level.

But this time they were leveled, and it showed something quite unsettling to Finn.

If both armies _were_ leveled, Ares had the upper hand.

Finn bit his thumb.

"All the gods are discussing a counterattack on Ares", started Loki, "but personally, I think it's the wrong move".

"Yes, Ares would have plans for this instance. Please do try to repel this, Loki".

"I'm working on it. I can't go all out now, after Itty-Bitty's tantrum".

 **At the Denatus**

"ARE YOU INSANE?", Hestia screamed.

"Hestia, please have the appropriate decorum. We are at session".

There is an expression that says that _gods are fickle creatures_.

Whoever said that was completely right.

How all this deities were able to go from bullies when choosing nicknames, to scared cats when being invaded to cold generals in a war council were beyond Hestia.

"No, I won't. This is insane! If we do this, we have no idea what the repercussions will be!".

"What repercussions? If we burn Rakia to the ground, there'll be no one to try and do something".

"Your answer to this is genocide?!".

"We prefer purge".

"Syntax doesn't change the rivers of blood that will be spilled! Ours and theirs!".

"We can live with that".

"Of course you can, you aren't the ones who'll get their hands bloodied. They'll be our children, who tainted their souls for the whims of idiotic gods!".

"That's enough, Hestia!".

Hestia glares coldly at the god, who shrinks under her gaze.

"This will backfire greatly. Best case scenario, someone survived and seeks revenge, spilling _some_ innocent blood. Worst case scenario, they become a martir. We'll be safe for a few generations, but every empire whose foundations are tragedy and fear always falls. Always".

Hestia gets up and goes for the door.

"If you are to continue this plan, then be advised that Hestia Familia will take no part in it. I won't make my children murderers just because the gods they so respect are self absorbed jackasses".

"You don't have a choice in the matter, Hestia. The council demands your assistance".

"I don't remember signing anything that forced my participation".

"Even so...".

Loki stands up.

"Oh, come on, let her go! It's not like her Familia would make a great difference anyways", Loki said, "let me deal with this little annoyance here and you all continue discussing this invasion thing".

"Very well, in that case we shall continue our talks...".

Loki pushes Hestia out.

"The hell is your problem!?", Loki almost yells.

"We both know that things are different this time, Loki. You saw their eyes, they're scared. This was too close of a call".

"Yet another reason for us to take it slow".

"I know them enough to predict their next moves. They will act rashly, they will get innocent adventurers and supporters killed and, even though it is very likely that we win this battle, no good will come of this".

Loki suddenly smiles.

"Okay, they're not listening to us anymore, we can talk freely".

Hestia's expression then softened.

"I underestimated you, Hestia", Loki started, "you actually have a great grasp of the situation".

"I noticed the looks you were giving me to do something. This way, you have a scapegoat and their favor, am I correct?".

"You sure are. Now I can move freely. You spooked them just enough to make my life a bit easier".

"Happy to help. Now, I have to go back, but do steer those idiots in the right direction, please".

"When have I ever disappointed you, Itty-Bitty?", Loki says, and Hestia glares, "okay, too soon, got it. But relax, this maestro will guide the orchestra just right".

Hestia nods.

"You better. They won't have Bell to save their asses this time", she says as she walks aways, her steps somehow sounding more powerful.

Loki watches the diminite goddess walk away and turn back to the door.

"Well", she says, taking a deep breath and smiling a devious smile, "let's do this".

She enters back into the room.

 **Back at present time**

"I have to say, she truly shined this time".

"So now we just wait?", Finn asks.

"Yes. Do as you normally do. Go to the dungeon to clear you mind if you'd like, just remember to act natural".

"As you wish".

Finn leaves the room.

Loki exhales.

"I'm getting too old for this shit".

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"How you doing, Bell?", Welf asks.

Two of the members of Hestia's Familia were at the Hostess of Fertility, visiting their recovering friend.

"I'm good. A little sore, but it doesn't hurt as bad as when I woke up".

"You were lucky, Bell. That stunt you pulled lmost killed you", Lili says.

"I'm really glad it only _almost_ did that", Bell laughs.

Lili's frown deepens.

"Dammit, this isn't funny. Look at you, you can barely move. A little more could have paralyzed you!".

"Lili, if I haven't done this you would've die. All of you. I'm sorry, but I don't regret it".

"I know, it's just... this was too close, ok? We almost lost you", she says, tears forming in her eyes, "I don't even want to think about what would have happened if-if you...".

Bell's eyes widen.

'Damn...'.

He really had no idea why his Familia loved him so much. But he'd be damned if he let them cry because of him.

Bell puts his hand on her head.

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm sorry I made you cry, so in return I promise to be a bit more careful, okay?", he asks with a smile.

"You mean it?", she asks, eyes watery.

"Of course".

A moment passes.

"But if another nation attacks I'll do it all again, though".

Lili slaps his hand away.

"YOU JUST SAID YOU'D BE MORE CAREFUL!".

"I said I'd be _a bit_ more careful, not a lot".

"YOU JERK!", Lili starts punching him lightly in the chest.

Bell laughs heartily, and at the sound of it, everyone inside starts laughing too.

'Now that's more like it', thinks Welf.

Things weren't the same without the white haired boy around. He had an easy-going aura that made things lighter.

"So, all ready to go back home?".

"Sure, I can finish recovering at the manor".

"I wouldn't advise it", said a voice.

It was Chloe, one of the waitresses at the Hostess of Fertility.

"Why? Is he not good enough to be moved yet?".

"Oh, he is. Matter of fact, he could've left a few days ago even, while he was still down".

"Then why are you against him leaving?".

"Because if he did, Syr and Ryuu would stop being wi-", she was cut short by a chair being violently thrown through the door and on her back.

"OOOUCH!", she yells.

"Oh my, Chloe, we didn't see you there, sorry", Syr says, entering through the space in which a door previously resided.

"Even so, this is too gratuitous...", Chloe mumbles.

Syr bends down to Chloe in the ground and whispers in her ear.

"Quite a tongue you got there, young lady. That's a big no-no around here", the waitress said, with a dangerous, borderline sadistic tone.

Chloe was terrified.

"I wonder what should I do to make you understand how much I did not appreciate what you almost did. How about...", Syr's hand stop right in front of Chloe's face the moment a certain voice appears.

"Hey Syr...", Bell starts.

Chloe is saved.

"Is Chloe okay?".

Syr gets up instantly, with a pure smile plastered on her face.

"Yes, she's a tough girl, this isn't enough to hurt her".

"Oh, I'm glad".

Chloe sighs in relief.

'Saved by the Bell'.

But another chill goes down her spine.

She looks up to see both Syr and Ryuu with an evil glint on their eyes.

Chloe immediately picks up the message.

 _This ain't over_.

"So what's this about you two making Bell stay over?", Lili asks, a bit ticked off.

"It's nothing, Chloe was just kidding. We love having you around, Bell, but you don't think I would keep you here against your will, do you?", Syr asks, fluttering her eyelashes.

"No, I don't think so".

If you were to have the reaction time and reflexes of Ryuu, you would have seen a grin start to form on Syr's face when Bell answered.

But since mostly no one had that, it went unnoticed.

"I'm so glad! I was starting to think that you didn't trust me...even after all we've been through...".

"No, no! I trust you, Syr! Actually, I can honestly say that everyone here at the Hostess of Fertility is someone I completely trust!".

This time, Syr didn't fight back the smile.

"That's wonderful!".

"That's dangerous", Ryuu said.

"Why? It's not like we hate the rookie. Even Mia seems to like him".

"I mean that it is dangerous to trust completely in people that you have no idea how they are outside of work. We're amicable and helpful here, but you know not about us on our free time".

"Ryuu...".

"She's right, Bell. Even if I agree that everyone at this establishment is very nice and kind to us, you shouldn't be so trustful of people you know very little about".

"But I do know Syr and Ryuu. Mia too, a bit".

"But that's not everyone, is it? How many times have you hung out with Chloe here?".

"I mean, I could ask her".

"Ohhh, asking me out, are ya? Well, I gladly woul-", she's stopped by a stomp on her hand.

"OOOOWWWWW!".

"Oh no, what an unfortunate accident!", Syr exclaims, a bit of extra flair than usual, "Ryuu, let's take her to the kitchen and check out this and her other wounds".

"WHAT OTHER WOUNDS, YOU LUNATIC?!".

"You were hit with a chair. You could have lots of bruises that maybe you didn't notice yet".

"Exactly. And you even fell down afterwards. So many possibilities for different wounds go through my head that I think we should actually take you to a reserved room".

"I agree. It's best if we don't disturb anyone while aiding you".

Chloe is dragged out, crying and clawing at the floor.

"Man, I really do not envy you in the slightest, Bell", Welf sighes.

"What do you mean?".

Lili just shakes her head.

"Nothing, Bell", the supporter answers, sighing, "nothing at all".

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

In another part of Orario, a lone smith was checking out her latest work.

'Needs refining', said the Cyclops to herself.

Tsubaki was really critic of her work.

Where people saw styled and enormous swords, she saw unneeded weight. Where they saw bulk, she saw imprecise distribution. Where they saw perfection, she only looked at the flaws.

Some might say that's a great thing. Some might not.

What was undisputable was the fact that Tsubaki wasn't a settler. She strived for the perfection she knew humans couldn't reach.

For that, she was cursed. To always run towards something she'd never reach.

'Add it to the pile', she sighed, throwing the pristine weapon on the ground as if it was garbage.

She had a great demand.

Perhaps the best smith in Orario, she was only second to the gods, according to a great number of customers.

And that made her creations expensive.

So it was a truth that, at the very least, 85% of the weapons she forged were going to be primary weapons for adventurers and supporters.

If they weren't the perfect weight, if the handle wasn't ergonomic, if the sharpness wasn't fine tuned...

All that could lead to possible problems.

Now, her weapons, even on an uninspired day, never were wrong by such a margin. So the chances of even a seasoned adventurer not realizing slight errors were close to absolute.

Even so, that was unacceptable for the level 5.

A smith's job is to create the best possible weapon for the client. It's to ensure the safety of the user and whoever is around. It's to sharpen a blade so much that certain death becomes easily preventable.

Bottom line, a smith's job is to make equipment that can shield from or cut fate itself.

And that's why she gave her all and made sure she wasn't just delivering faulty equipment.

On her mind, either she did all she could or she failed. There was not a middle ground.

The _faulty_ weapon joined with axes, swords and pieces of armor on the floor.

A bell then rings, signifying the presence of someone entering her shop.

"Good afternoon, how may I...", she stops as soon as the person comes into view.

Red hair. A vivid, scarlet cascade flowed down her shoulders.

Red eyes. A quick look would intimidate you, but if you were to really look into her eyes, you would feel a very strange mixture of utter admiration and breaking fear.

Her features were stoic, further increasing the complete dominance she commanded without even opening her mouth.

Yes, this was a person who you would not want to cross at any circumstances.

Most people would be paralyzed by all this.

But as we have established...

Tsubaki wasn't most people.

"SCARLET!", she yelled, arms open for a hug and a huge smile on her face.

"I told you, smith, that is not my name", the woman said, voice sounding tired.

"I know, but it just fits so well!".

"I would prefer if you used my real name, please".

"Fine, fine", Tsubaki sighes.

A moment passes.

"What's your name again?", she asks coily.

"My name is-".

"Just, before you continue", Tsubaki interrupts, "you do know that I will just keep calling you Scarlet, right?".

"But as I have just told you, I would much prefer...".

"BORING! Scarlet, you weren't this boring last time, you know?".

"I was boring last time?", the woman says, a little upset at that.

"Painfully so, but NO MATTER!", Tsubaki grins, "because I assume you're bringing me an order, am I right?".

 _Scarlet_ sobers.

"Yes, I have come with a request".

"Cool, lay it on me. The designs from your Familia are always fun to do, they're very simple, but personal at the same time".

"I'd like an upgrade on my knife", she says, handing the weapon to her.

The knife wasn't anything spectacular to see. It's as bland as it could be.

It was entirely silver, and both the handle and blade were identical, with the only difference being a curve in the blade.

It was a very low quality kitchen knife, that did not match the presence of the user at all.

At seeing such disparity, Tsubaki just stared incredulously.

"This is some kind of sick joke, right?".

"I don't follow".

"WHAT IS THIS...THIS GARBAGE?! WHERE'S THE KNIFE I MADE YOU?".

"It broke a few years ago".

"So what, you just took a kitchen knife as you primary instead?".

"Yes".

Not many times had Tsubaki wanted so badly to stab a customer.

"WHY?".

"Well, it...cuts. Just like that knife", the red haired woman said, not understand the smith's commotion.

The Level 5's state was deteriorating with every answer.

"I don't understand your reaction, this knife cut explendidly the first time I used it".

'Oh, then perhaps it's a hidden gem', Tsubaki rationalized.

Tsubaki knew lots of cases of it.

Household objects made by rare or unusual materials were sometimes found.

Perhaps heirlooms from rich lineages or just mistakenly made, pawn shops across the world had tons of treasures just waiting to be found.

"So from what is it made?".

"I don't know".

"Is it enchanted?".

"Not that I know of".

"Previous user?".

"A nice lady who makes delicious sandwiches".

'Sandwiches? Oh no'.

"Just...what creature did you cut?".

"Bread".

Tsubaki felt like she had a stroke.

"...bread?".

"Yes".

"Like...like a bread monster?".

"No, the food".

"BREAD, bread, right?".

"Yes".

"As in the food made out of wheat? That bread?".

"Correct".

"SANDWICH bread?".

"I don't remember the nature of the bread. Is it relevant?".

"OF COURSE NOT! WHY WOULD IT BE RELEVANT?".

"I don't know, you're the one that keeps wanting to know more about it. Are you perhaps hungry?".

"I actually am a bit BUT THAT IS SO NOT THE POINT! Why are you fighting with a subpar kitchen knife?".

"Because it works".

"But why not buy another one?".

"Why? It cuts well enough".

Tsubaki felt like screaming.

All of her being was incredibly stressed.

To a smith, for someone to switch from using your weapon to a bad kitchen knife was almost like a spit in the face.

Actually, that might extend to poeple who aren't smiths as well.

Of course, she knew it wasn't intentional.

'But even so...may the gods damn Scarlet for this. Damn her to hell!'.

"Well, I do have to acknowledge that you kept it in a great condition".

Such a normal knife normally wouldn't survive regular bouts, so to still be standing is very impressive.

"I mostly just use it to cut the throats and ligaments, I don't parry with it".

"Either way, it shows great care. You know your way around weapons".

Scarlet blushes a bit at the compliment.

"Thank you", she says bashfully, "so, could you upgrade it?".

The Cyclops grins amicably.

"No way in hell".

"Why?", the woman questions, crestfallen.

"I refuse to tinker with that. A kitchen knife can't be much bettered, and seeing as I made you previous knife, I will not make anything inferior to it".

"Are you forcing me to buy your weapons?".

"No, I'm merely pointing out that I can make you a knife so perfect that even Lady Artemis will want one equal".

Scarlet smiles.

"You seem very sure of yourself".

"I am. In fact, I will even say this: if the knife is not to your liking, I'll forge knives for free to your whole Familia. A pair each, even".

"I like you, smith. You have conviction".

"I appreciate the compliment, hunter. So now", Tsubaki says,picking pencil and paper, "tell me a bit about what you want. I need some info so I can knock your socks off with my weapon".

"Well, I guess the first thing that comes to mind is that it has to be able to cut things...".

Tsubaki sweatdropped.

'This might take a while'.

But as soon as she thought that, a smile appeared on her face.

To craft something new, with so much on the line, was thrilling to her.

Just thinking about everything she could do, all the things she could try...

She couldn't wait to start making the perfect blade for her.

Her ambition flared.

Yes, Tsubaki was cursed to strive for only the best of her abilities, and that often made her put heavy expectation on herself.

But in all honesty, at least in her own opinion, there were way worse curses out there to have.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

In Rakia, a man sat alone by a gigantic fireplace.

Even with the raging red fire billowing and reaching new heights every second, the man didn't seem to care, preferring to observe his own closed fists.

'So damn close...', Ares said to himself.

This time, he nearly had them.

He outsmarted the Braver. He outgunned Orario. He had victory in his grasp.

He opens his closed hands, and stares at his palms.

It escaped at the last minute.

Just as he had brought in the unexpected as a weapon, so had the unexpected purged him.

'Artemis really couldn't have picked a worse time to come...her timing was too perfect...'.

Now, Ares wasn't about to discard the idea of being backstabbed by his acquaintances. If they betrayed one nation, there was no certainty that they couldn't have done that twice.

Probably wasn't the case, though. Ares made sure to have spies and ears everywhere around them, and nothing suggested them turning.

'Still', he closed his hands again, making a fist, 'am I supposed to believe that she just had that much of an intuition?'.

"My king", a voice belonging to a soldier calls, "all of the allied gods are reunited on the hall. Shall I ask them to wait?".

"No", Ares says, getting up and towering over the man, "we have a very important meeting now".

The soldier nervously looks at his feet before looking at the deity again.

"If you forgive me asking, my king, are we going to invade Orario again?", he asks with a stuttering voice.

'Please don't figure me out, please don't figure me out...', the man thought.

When Hermes was drafting members to extend his web of informants, this man was one of the chosen ones.

He wasn't exactly good at lying, so Hermes put him in a low-threatening position. Basically, scour bars and listen to every whisper, filtrating what might be useful.

For a few months he did just that. Stayed low and biting only what he could chew.

But then he got cocky.

He thought that he deserved a higher post than just eavesdropper. He thought he was ready to go undercover.

Being undercover is taxing, in every way possible. Your morale is bent and you start to forget who you are little by little.

Not many people are cut to it.

But this man was sure of himself.

So he talked with Hermes about going to Rakia, seeing as Ares seemed like a blockhead.

 _No danger at all_.

 _He won't even see me coming_.

 _I can take him_.

Hubris exaled from the boy, and the god saw it. So, thinking about the kid's well being, Hermes denied him from doing that.

The deity made up some story about how he was needed in another assignment and couldn't compromise already made plans by changing pivotal players at the last moment.

It was a colossal lie, of course. So big that not even a god who's known for lying made it truly believable.

And that angered the soldier.

 _I'll show him, he said_.

So that day, the boy made his way to Rakia, leaving a letter with very crude language for the god and his whole Familia.

 _I'll fix that when I arrive with Ares head on a plate_.

So he commenced his plan.

Little by little, he rose through the king's ranks, until becoming important enough so that he lived at the castle, but not important enough as to have his name remembered.

He was playing a dangerous game here, and attention was the last thing he needed.

It began as simple information gathering, but as he rose, he craved more.

So now, he wanted all there was to know.

And he couldn't wait anymore.

Ares doesn't even look at him as he answers.

"Not now. Although it'd be ideal to attack while they are still shaken, we haven't got the numbers for an offensive. For now, we will enjoy this moment of peace to structure a new plan. Who knows, maybe they attack and make things easy for us".

'Lord Hermes will enjoy knowing this', the soldier thought.

He got it. Nice and clean info straight from the King himself.

The man was on cloud nine on the inside.

But on the outside, he only nodded, sweat dripping from his face.

One might have thought that the sweat was because of the fire behind him, but in actuality it was because of the immense pressure that the god exerted.

Ares had never even risen his voice below a raspy tone, but the soldier couldn't even breath properly while the god spoke.

Ares puts a hand on his shoulder.

"You don't seem to handle the heat too well, son. How about we get out of this room so you won't sweat even more on my carpet?".

"O-of course, my king! My deepest apologies!".

"Think nothing of it. Now", he says moving his hand from the soldiers shoulder back to his side, "there's people waiting for us".

Both exited the room, and the fire stayed illuminating the now lone place.

If you were to look inside the fire, you'd see a myriad of materials.

Diaries, weapons, armors...all from soldiers from outside nations and Familias, of all different colors.

Red, blue, green...Ares swore that the fire changed colors depending on whose Familias the _corpses_ belonged to.

All this...was from people who tried to spy back on him.

"Say, soldier...".

"Albus, sir".

"Albus, don't you think that the fire on my fireplace would look better with a bit of yellow on it?".

The soldier forgets how to breath for a moment.

'Oh no'.

"I...I think so, sir".

'Please no'.

He pales.

'God Hermes...'.

Ares grins.

'Help me'.

The door closes.


	3. Chapter 3

**SUP!**

 **Follower here, bringing the third chapter of this story.**

 **This is a calm entry on the story, I've left the action and fighting for the next one.**

 **I want to point out this story was written before that Danmachi movie, so any differences regarding Artemis Familia are to be expected.**

 **Also, I'm proud to say that I've reposted the first chapter, this time correctly edited and, I hope, without all those errors.**

 **I wrote that first chapter and posted just for the sake of posting it, not giving it much mind, but when I read it again, I realized that I hated the way it was. So now it has less of those errors.**

 **There are still errors though, I'm still learning, but I think they aren't as crass as they were.**

 **Other than that, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **AVANTI!**

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"Come on, Lil'E, move it!", Welf yelled.

"Shut it! I'm going as fast as I can here!", she replied, equally as loud.

"Well, it's hardly fast enough! We've been waiting for well over thirty minutes for you!".

"Just give me a minute!".

"That's what you said seventeen minutes ago!".

"Well, you better sit down, then!".

"Why, you little...".

Hestia Familia was currently getting ready for a feast, and everyone was using their best clothes.

After the battle against Ares and his alliance, Loki had brought up the idea of a great party to celebrate both their win and also Artemis Familia, who had pretty much saved them.

Hestia thought this was a weird move from the goddess, but let it go. If one was to try and uncover every scheme of the mischievous goddess, that person would most definitely fall very short.

So, for now, she was content with just enjoying a night out with her Familia.

Also, it had been ages since she last saw Artemis, and she missed her very much.

The fact that Hestia knew Artemis had greatly shocked everyone around her.

 **Hestia Flashback**

"You know goddess Artemis?", Bell asked, surprised.

"Know her? We were pretty much besties! We used to hang out all the time, but since she came down to form her Familia we kind of lost touch with each other", Hestia explained.

"Huh", the supporter said.

"What?".

"Nothing, it's just...from the little I saw of her and her Familia, she seemed really different from you", Lili explained.

"Well, I can see that, she _has_ a more serious personality, but it never really bothered me. Actually, the fact that we were so different made us even closer".

Lili pondered that. People with such different characteristics usually clashed with each other, but as her history with the Hestia Familia had showed her, being different could paradoxically make them closer.

'Still, it's weird to see the two of them hanging out', the supporter thought.

"So this is your first time seeing her again since you left Tenkai?", Haruhime asked.

"Yup!".

"You must be very excited!".

"I sure as hell am! I can hardly wait to show Bell off to her! Arty always joked that I'd never be able to form a Familia as strong as hers, so today it's bragging day!", Hestia said, puffing her chest with joy.

"But didn't Artemis Familia save Bell?".

Hestia coldly glares at the Haruhime.

"Huuuh? You said something, newbie", the goddess asked, voice slightly angry.

"N-NO MISS, I MEAN LADY, I MEAN MA'AM, I MEAN...", the renart quickly denied, fearing the wrath of her goddess.

But all Hestia did was give her a small smile.

"Relax, I'm just joking", she plays it off, returning to her usual warm gaze, "but what you said is true. I'm gonna have to think of something else".

"Will the entire Artemis Familia be there? They seemed like a rather large group", Mikoto enters the conversation.

"They are not, only a few members will be going. Plus, from what I heard, most of them don't like parties and such, so they wouldn't all go anyway".

"I see".

"Will the red haired lady be there?", Bell asks suddenly.

"Red haired lady?", Hestia asks, confused.

"The one who saved me", the boy says quietly.

"I don't know, actually. Since I've never met her Familia, I wouldn't know if she was an elite member or not".

"Oh. Okay, thank you, goddess", the white haired boy says, dejected.

"So how about we do this: I'll introduce you to Artemis and we can ask her, so at the very least you can ask to send a message of thanks", his goddess said, with a smile in her face.

Bell's eyes shined, looking at Hestia in pure appreciation and gratitude.

"Thank you, goddess!".

Hestia blushed heavily, not prepared for such cuteness.

"Oh, Bell, you're more than welcome!", she said throwing herself at him.

Bell quickly opened his arms to hold the goddess, a bit stunned at the immediate action.

But before Hestia could hug him...

Lili pushed him out of the way, making him roll to the side and making her the recipient of the godly hug.

When realizing (quickly, due to the vastly different anatomy) who she had hugged, Hestia only clicked her tongue in distaste and made an annoyed face while disentangling herself from Lili.

"Lili, what was that for?", Bell asked, rubbing his head.

The sudden push had made Bell hit the wall close to them head first, and although he was fairly high leveled, the impact had still hurt.

"Not letting your opponent take the lead".

"What? What do you mean?".

"Don't worry about it".

And the conversation ended, with two grinning female adventurers, one smith looking very tired from all, a goddess and a supporter slightly glaring at each other and one particular white haired kid looking astoundingly confused.

 **Hestia Flashback End**

"Oh man, this is gonna be a fun party. Food, friends and a bunch of people who have traveled all over and who probably have or know some interesting new designs", Welf said, getting fired up.

"Plus, so much new chatter from all over from all the gods and members!", exclaimed Lili, finally getting out of the bathroom.

"Seeing Aisha", said Haruhime.

"Seeing Takemikazuchi...a-and my whole Familia, of course", Mikoto whispered, blushing.

Hestia smiled at the readiness and happiness from everyone.

"Well, then", she turned to the door, "shall we go?".

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

The castle was absolutely enormous.

It was made of the most beautiful white marble Bell had ever seen. The boy didn't doubt for a second the hypothesis of it being brought from Tenkai.

Intricate details in obsidian made the building seem even more beautiful, the colors somehow clashing while perfectly harmonized.

The doors were made from a weirdly shiny and beautiful kind of wood, having details engraved in gold.

In summary, this castle was phenomenal.

Even Hestia seemed a bit taken aback with the fanciness, having never stepped foot in this particular place for a particular reason.

'He sure went all out', she thought, hands balled into fists.

Her somber look was then severely shook when she heard a particular voice.

"Hey, Hestia. Sure has been a while, huh?", a woman said, her voice warm and friendly.

The diminute goddess turned to see a tall woman, with ginger hair and breathtaking green eyes looking at her.

The woman was wearing a green dress with white leaf like patterns on it. It was very simple and also very cheap, seeing as the material was equal to the one Hestia was using, but somehow it seemed perfect for her.

"ARTY!", Hestia yelled, glomping the taller goddess.

Artemis reciprocated the hug excitedly, wrapping her arms around Hestia and twirling her in her arms.

"How has it been, shorty?".

"It's been nice, you damn lamp post. What about you?".

"Everything just got much better", she laughed, letting go of Hestia as she spoke.

"Oh, wanna fight this early in the night?", Hestia flexes her arm, but no apparent muscles appear.

Artemis puts her arms up, feigning worry.

"Oh no, I wouldn't dream of it, oh powerful miniature deity".

They both laugh heartily while Hestia Familia just watch, a satisfied smile on their faces.

Hestia keeps laughing until she catches a glimpse of Artemis' neck.

There, a silver necklace with an golden arrow glowed in the light provided by the lamps nerby.

Hestia stops laughing immediately.

'This may break our friendship, but I have to be honest' , she thinks.

Artemis seemed to notice the lack of giggles on her friends face and looked at her, seeing a pained but resolute expression.

"Hey, what's wrong, Hestia?", she asks, worried.

"Look Artemis, about Apollo...", Hestia starts.

Artemis gets serious instantly.

Apollo was Artemis' brother, and they were inseparable.

Although Apollo was a pain in the ass, Artemis still loved him dearly, with all her heart.

So when she encountered him while on one of her assignments, dirty and without a dime to his name, she was pretty pissed off at whoever did that.

"I truly am sorry for what happened, but I couldn't turn a blind eye anymore. I had no choice...no, that's not the truth, I had, but he crossed a huge line, and I don't regret my decision", Hestia spoke resolutely.

Artemis deserved the truth, even if at the cost of their friendship.

"I...I completely understand if-if you don't want to talk to me and...and hate me", she sniffed, looking down.

'Why the hell did this have to take place in one of Apollo's old houses?', she lamented.

After the win in the war game, Apollo had been stripped of everything. All his posessions, his money, his children...all gone.

Some went to join other Familias, some decided to follow their god and some, finally free from the God's grasp, went back to the life they had been so cruelly taken from.

His houses and treasures all were confiscated and later went to auction. This house was, for example, now property of the Demeter Familia.

He might've been long gone and a world away, but Hestia could swear that this looked like one big elaborate vengeance plan.

"Goddess...", Bell attempted to console her, but was stopped by Lili, her eyes conveying a clear message to the boy.

 _Don't interfere._

Although that wasn't something Bell was good at, he backed down. Lili was the best at understanding this tense situations, he would trust her.

She surely made the right call.

...right?

Artemis then finally moved, walking towards Hestia, making no sound.

The goddess of family merely waited, be it for a scream or a slap.

But what she felt was a hand on her head, gently stroking her hair.

"Lift your head, Hestia".

The goddess did, with a vexed face.

"I ran into Apollo and he told me all about your war game with him".

Hestia froze.

'Our friendship is over', she thought.

"And I agree with your punishment", Artemis said simply.

Hestia's shocked face was all the reaction she was able to muster, no words coming from her mouth. Seeing this, Artemis continued.

"Of course I'm sad for my brother, but his actions are inexcusable. I admit I did hold a grudge against you for a time, but some very nice people made me realize things weren't so black and white, and that you had very much reason and validation".

"You don't need to worry, I don't want to stop being friends with you and I definitely don't hate you. In your place, I'd have probably done worse", the goddess then smiles, "so how about we break this sad atmosphere with some drinks and stories? I'm dying to tell the one about the evil snowman we went against last year".

Hestia gave the most beautiful and electrifying of smiles, her eyes still wet from tears, and excitedly moved her head up and down.

"I'd love that!".

And so the two friends entered the castle, followed by the radiating smile of the whole Hestia Familia.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Bell was very lost.

He had only got separated from Welf for what felt like a second, but he completely lost sight of everyone.

Not that they were in any danger, the boy just got very anxious at being separated from them.

He was awful at this fancy events.

He hoped being with them would help, but now he was alone.

'What do I do now?'.

What did he do last time?

He remembers eating, drinking and...

Oh, god.

 _Dancing with Aiz_.

A part of him desperately wanted to do that again.

But another didn't have the willpower to ask her to.

The commotion in his head made him actually dizzy, and he took a step back to stabilize himself.

Unfortunately, he took this step back at the exact same time a girl was walking behind him, and he ended up stepping on her foot.

"Oh, sorry!", he said, retracting his leg immediately.

The woman, whose red eyes seemed to peer deep into Bell's soul, turned to look at him.

"It's okay, no harm done", she said simply.

Bell took this opportunity to look at the person he had run into.

The girl in front of him had mesmerizing eyes, in which Bell thought he could easily lose himself into. Her red hair seemed to be flowing, even though she was completely still.

She wore a simple red sundress and her body seemed fit, but not to the point where it appeared as it was conditioned for strength. It definitely was conditioned for stamina.

'Kind of like Aisha', he thought.

Her face had a few freckles on her cheeks, which gave the girl a jovial tone.

All in all, Bell was sure she was one the most beautiful girls he had ever seen.

'And she's not even wearing any jewelry or expensive dresses, she's just naturally gorgeous, like Ais', the boy thought.

The adventurer then realized he had been staring.

"U-uhm...what's your name?", he asked shyly, blushing.

"It's...".

"REQUIEM!", a person shouted.

Both turned to the source of the shout, seeing a man wearing a hat with a feather in it.

"God Hermes, it's an honor", she bowed.

"Come on, you don't need to be so casual, milady. Just Hermes is okay", the god said, playfulness and good will practically dripping from his words.

"Such act would be an offense".

"I don't mind. Bell here calls me by my name", he says pointing to the still blushing boy.

Requiem them looks at the boy, her eyes judging.

"W-well, yes, I do. But that's because Hermes is a friend and we've been through a lot. He helped my goddess save me when I was forced to advance to the eighteenth floor and...", Bell stutters, trying his hardest to convey to her that he's not a bad guy.

"Forced to advance?", Requiem asks, completely switching the topic.

Hermes smiles.

"Oh, I love this story. Would you mind letting me tell it, Bell?".

"N-no, not at all".

Hermes then cracks his knuckles, preparing for the tale.

"You see, Bell had just levelled up to level two and, along with his Familia, decided to venture a bit farther into the dungeon. So they started their descent, but an encounter with another party forced them to face a monster party".

"Monster party?".

"It's when there's an aglomeration of monsters together".

"Oh, as in an horde".

"Exactly. Well, after fighting and making out of the area, they had the bad luck to encounter minotaurs. At this point, only Bell here was being able to fight".

The girl looked at the boy, a new glimmer of admiration in her eyes.

She had fought a minotaur back when she was a level one, and she got her ass handed to her. To take on multiple monsters like that just when he became level two as amazing.

"So he fought them off, advancing deeper and deeper until getting close to the eighteenth floor, because it is used as a rest area. But on the seventeenth, close to the passage to his safe haven, a floor boss appeared. Bell, being tired, wounded and also carrying his friends made a break for it and was able to save all of them".

"You praise me too much. I only did what it needed to be done, nothing extraordinary" , he said, brushing off the story.

"Nonsense", the girl said, "you valiantly fought and braved the dungeon, saving your friends. I, for one, think that is quite extraordinary".

Bell blushes even more.

Hermes smiles even wider.

"Wow Bell, another girl? Quite the player, huh?", the god says quietly to the boy, giving a playful nudge in his ribs.

Bell is pretty sure he couldn't possibly blush harder than this.

"I-I-I have no idea of what you mean!", he almost yells, drawing a bit of attention to him.

"Now, there's no need to be shy, is there? You're enjoying yourself, nothing's wrong with that", the god starts, showing his tongue in juvenile manner, "even if I think you're enjoying yourself too much".

Bell is now hiding his face in his hands.

'Maybe I went a bit too far?', the god wonders.

"Excuse me, God Hermes, but what do you mean?", Requiem asks, her face clearly confused.

'Oh Bell, I was just about to go away, but how can I not take advantage of this opportunity?'.

"Well, I'll let Bell here explain everything to you", Hermes joyfully states, clasping a hand in Bell's shoulder.

And so the god walked away, a satisfied smile in his face while the boy could only continue hide his face in his hands.

The girl turns to him.

"So, what did god Hermes mean, Bell?".

Bell only response was to try and hide deeper into his hands, puzzling the girl.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"Aiz!".

"Tiona", the blonde says, seeing her friend.

"Quite a party, huh? So many people around!", the younger Amazon says, her smile as big as can be.

"Yes, there are".

"I was just talking to a girl from that new Familia and let me tell you, they're an interesting bunch".

"New Familia? You mean Artemis'?", Aiz asks, suddenly more interested.

It's not that Aiz didn't like talking with Tiona, but she was a bit too hyper at times, and the blonde wasn't able to follow her endless energy.

"Yes, exactly. So, I was walking down the ballroom, right? And suddenly I saw an elf".

 **Tiona flashback**

The younger Amazon was walking through the crowd, trying to find some snacks when she saw a figure all too familiar to her.

'Wow, is that Riveria?'.

Tiona hadn't seen the elf today, so she jumped at her and put her hand on her shoulder

"What's up, Riveria?", she greeted, bubbly as always.

"I'm sorry, I think you have me confused with someone else", a different voice than she expected said.

Tiona quickly took her hand away, knowing how elves hated contact.

"Oh my, I'm so sorry! I thought you were my friend and...", she started to apologize, red hue on her cheeks.

"Relax, it's fine. Does that mean your friend is an elf as well?", the woman asked.

"Yes, a high elf at that!", the younger Amazon puffs her chest with pride for her friend.

The elf gets interested at hearing that.

"Really? I haven't met many of my kind in Familias. I'd love meeting her sometime".

"We should totally do that! I'll see if I can find her!", Tiona says, her hyper attitude back full force.

The elf smiles.

"Thank you, I'll be waiting, miss...".

"Tiona! And you are...?".

"Faye".

"I don't remember seeing you around, Faye. Are you a new adventurer?".

"No, I'm hardly a newcomer", she laughs, "I'm from Artemis Familia, so we hardly swing by Orario".

"Cool, you're from that new Familia! You guys were amazing!", Tiona gushed.

"Thank you, but we were only able to help because you valiantly held them and defeated their strongest members. Since we don't go to the dungeon, our levels are way lower than yours".

"They can't be much lower, you were all so perfect at handling them".

"Oh, but we are. Our strongest members are level three's. And I don't think we were perfect, we just had the surprise and stealth factors with us. If it weren't for Loki Familia's disposing of their level six, we wouldn't be of much help".

"Level three? You guys don't have access to the dungeon and are still level three? That's amazing!".

Faye gently smiles at the girl.

Tiona then remembers.

"Oh, right, I have to find Riveria!".

"I'll be waiting", Faye says, giggling.

 **Tiona Flashback End**

"She was sooo cool! The way she was composed and her eyes and...", Tione chatted away.

Aiz was only listening, trying to keep up with her friend.

She had been interested in this new Familia, since she never heard of them and, from what she'd seen, they looked really strong.

Being level three without using the Dungeon was something extremely amazing. There were no infinite monster respawns on the surface, only escapees.

Artemis Familia, if they were to stay at Orario, would easily rise to be a top guild in no time.

That was her point of view, at least.

"So now I'm trying to find Riveria! Have you seen her somewhere?".

"She stayed at the guild. She said she was finishing on reading a book and would come if she ended it early".

"Oh, come on! Everyone knows that when she says that, she's not coming!", Tiona threw her hands up, disbelief that her Familia fell for that.

Loki Familia didn't actually fell for it, though, they just let her to it.

Riveria wasn't the most social member of their Familia, even though she often went out to eat with them.

"Well, how about you tell Riveria when we get home?", Aiz said, trying to help.

"I guess there's no other option, but still. This sucks!".

The Amazon started pouting, angry.

"How about we go tell Faye together, then? And then we can see if she wants to visit", Aiz said, not liking the look on her friends face.

Tiona stops pouting immediately.

"Really?", she asks, eyes hopeful.

Aiz only nods.

"All right! Let's go", she says, practically running back to the elf.

The blonde smiles and follows.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"What a party!", Loki exclaimed to no one in particular.

The goddess, face red from the wine, seemed to be having a great time.

She was dancing, she was partying and she even scored a dance with Lefiya!

Ok, not so much a dance. It was more Loki flailing Lefiya's arms around and singing offbeat.

'Still counts', she thought, smiling again at the memory.

But perhaps most importantly, she got the Intel she had wanted.

'Suggesting this was one hell of an idea', she complimented herself.

The moment Artemis Familia appeared, she got interested.

There wasn't much info about them, and who knows how many adventurers one might enlist in a period of years.

And the moment they won the battle for Orario, Loki got attentive.

This was no run of the mill, pushover outdoor Familia. They were good.

And if their methods were any indication, they were better than she had anticipated.

To have a plan go so smoothly, there were only two explanations.

One: they've done this before. Possible, but unlikely. Such a massive incursion needed lots of training, and Loki doubted they had toppled that many kingdoms without this information getting to her.

Two: they never done this before, and they were absolutely phenomenal at it. This was the hypothesis Loki was working with.

It had a bigger margin of error, but it made more sense.

Loki absentmindedly looked at nowhere in particular, festive eyes dropping to a bare, calculating look.

As great as this party was, Loki wasn't in the mood for it. Even she had days which she would rather stay home.

But gathering Intel took priority, so here she was, smiling and laughing away in a mostly perfect façade.

 _Mostly_.

"My, what's with that look, Loki?", a velvety voice asked, pulling her back to reality.

Loki mentally berated herself for the slip.

"You know, Freya, sometimes a girl can only drink so much before her stomach starts to rebel", she joked.

"Oh, so that's why you were looking so disdainfully at the candelabra?".

Loki's smile widened.

"Of course, what else could it be?".

Freya only smiles, and Loki looks at her.

She was, quite possibly, the most beautiful being on Genkai and Tenkai. But for all her beauty, she had quite a nasty side.

She played and broke everyone.

She sauntered towards all, like a gentle wind, and then went away, leaving all gasping for air.

In a manner of minutes, Freya became oxygen. She became her targets reason for living.

She was everything.

And then, when she inevitably left, there was nothing.

Loki was always more in guard with her around.

Hermes was one thing, he was dark but he chose his battles.

Freya didn't need to choose her battles. The only Familia in the world that rivalled hers was Loki's very own, and even then it would be anybody's guess who would win.

No, Freya didn't choose.

Freya seeked conflict.

"So many new faces around", the goddess of beauty spoke.

"Yeah, Artemis sure has lots of children under her".

"Some great ones to boot".

Loki became interested.

"Like who?", she asked, mischievously.

Freya smiles sweetly, and Loki swears she heard about seven people fall down behind her, dazzled by the goddess.

"Well, I'm sure you already know", Freya counters, even more mischief in her voice.

"Humor me".

"There's two: the high elf and the captain. The elf apparently is immensely skilled with both magic and long range weapons, and the captain...just was a certain _glow_ to her", Freya said, licking her lips.

Loki only nodded. Those were her picks as well.

Artemis had a pretty common Familia, nothing out of the ordinary for the majority of her children. But those two were severe exceptions.

"You'll try to snatch any of them?", Loki asks, half-joking.

"I would never do such a thing", Freya defends, gasping lightly.

"Right, my mistake", Loki scoffs.

The silver haired goddess turns to leave, giving Loki a few last words.

"I'll be looking forward to seeing you another time, Loki", she says, for once without a smile on her face, just completely serious.

"So will I, Freya", she responds equally serious.

Yes, if their Familias ever were to clash, it was anybody's guess who would win.

So for now, they both stood down.

'There will be a time and a place for that...', thinks Freya.

'...but not tonight', Loki thinks, unknowingly completing the other goddess train of thought.

And so both walk in different directions, their original masks back.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"The time you were all waiting for is finally here! Let's start the prize draw!", the presenter bellowed, "And in case you forgot, I am Ganesha!".

This was a very common activity amongst most deities. They loved winning and prizes, so this was perfect.

And since the god of the masses was a natural born entertainer, Ganesha was almost always in charge of running the show.

Here's how the draw worked: the moment everyone arrived, they also bought a number of tickets. Those could be individual or in the name of their Familias. It was also possible to buy more as the night went on.

The draw would be conducted from an enormous cauldron, big enough to put a medium sized ship to shame. Inside it, all the names of the individuals or groups that bought tickets were stored.

The tickets would be taken by an invention made by Asfi, which consisted in a extendable, malleable pole with two pincers at it's end.

Basically, a normal crane game.

Except that the crane had been made to only pick one ticket, so it would never bring more. Also, it automatically and randomly searched and picked the tickets in different areas than the ones it went before, making sure that no area was missed.

So, an upgraded crane game.

Gods sure were beyond human comprehension.

"First, we will be giving away a full expenses paid vacation for an entire Familia to whatever place in the world they want!".

"Please be me, please be me, please be me...", Hestia kept murmuring to herself.

The diminute goddess had blown all her money in tickets, hoping for at least one big prize.

"Let's see if your lottery curse is still kicking, shall we?", joked Artemis.

 _Hestia's lottery curse_ was a term invented by Artemis herself. Back in Tenkai, both of them often took part in giveaways and every sort of game which had some kind of reward, mostly because Hestia loved them.

But, as it turned out, the goddess was very unlucky. It wasn't uncommon for Artemis to buy a single ticket and get the biggest reward while Hestia got nothing even though she had a bucket full of tickets.

The pincer drops a ticket on Ganesha's hand.

"And the winner is...Goibniu Familia! Congratulations!".

"Dammit!", Hestia exclaimed.

"So far, everything is just as usual", Artemis giggled.

"Arty, you're so mean", the other goddess sobbed.

"Sorry, sorry".

In another corner of the ballroom, Welf and Lili were also expectantly waiting for the next prize.

"Shoot, I was so close!", the redhead lamented.

"How do you even know that? The sorting is made by name, not numbers. Your name could be in the other side of the cauldron for all we know", she responded.

"I just know it, okay? I can feel my paper there, just begging to be caught!".

"It better beg a bit louder, otherwise you'll get nothing tonight".

Welf glares.

"I sure as hell am gonna win something tonight".

Lili smirks.

"Wanna bet?".

Welf smiles, challenging.

"Oh, yes I most certainly do. If I get something, you'll do my chores for a month".

"If you don't, you have to do my chores...and Bell's for a month".

"Why Bell's as well?".

"Well, it doesn't matter how many there are if you're gonna win, does it?", she says, blushing a bit.

Welf goes back to glare at her.

"You're evil, Prum".

"Does that mean you're ckickening...I'm sorry, backing out?", she says, in a sickly sweet voice.

"Hell no! I accept your terms!".

'Too easy', Lili thinks.

"And now, we will be seeing who's going to win a new, rare piece of minotaur horn!", the god of the masses said, and the crane went inside the cauldron.

"Can you feel fate working, Lil'E? I've made weapons from that! It's as good as mine!".

The crane gets back at place and drops a new ticket onto the waiting hand of Ganesha.

"And the winner is...Takemikazuchi! Congratulations!".

The god bashfully accepted the reward as every member of his Familia and Hestia Familia's Mikoto embraced him.

"Dammit!", Welf cursed.

"Better start stretching, buddy. Doing a three person worth of chores sure hurts your back".

Welf only grumbles under his breath.

Close by to the both of them, a certain Elf was almost running out of patience.

'This is it. The all expenses paid two person trip to the beach!', she smiles, eyeing a certain blonde, 'if I win it, then I can take Aiz and we'll become even closer!'.

"Wow, Lefiya sure looks pumped", Tione says, eyeing the elf.

"Well, she was really looking forward to this", Finn said.

"And the winner for the two person trip to the beach is...".

'ME! SAY MY NAME!'.

"Tione, from Loki Familia!".

Tione blinks twice, and then turns to Finn, smiling deviously.

"Oh captaaain..." she purred, and Finn could only sweat nervously.

Behind them, an elf was now on the ground.

"Dammit!", she cursed.

Aiz only looked at her, curious as to why she wanted that so much.

'Maybe she likes the beach', she rationalized.

The elf continued on the ground for another ten minutes.

The night went on, prizes after prizes being sorted and given away.

To Hestia's chagrin, she did not win a single one.

To Artemis' happiness, she did. The goddess won a nice pair of gold earrings.

She tried offering them to Hestia, but the goddess was adamant on only wanting her own prizes, not anyone else's.

Welf was the same, only a small discussion had happened.

Hephaestus had won a better than average whetstone and, since she had loads of those, decided to give it away to Welf.

The blacksmith had thrown his win on Lili, but she defended herself saying that he didn't win this, the red haired goddess did and then gave it him.

An argument had broke out and now they were currently fighting about who won and who lost the bet.

Lefiya had recovered after Aiz proposed for them to go to the beach.

The elf was ecstatic when the heard of this.

She was less ecstatic when she heard her whole Familia was coming with.

Laughter and joy seemed to echo on the great ballroom.

"And now, to finish up the night", Ganesha bellowed, "we have our last items".

"This are two equal daggers with completely different properties. One is a Durandal weapon made by our favorite Cyclops, Tsubaki", at this the Smith, wearing her famous eye patch and a red dress, waved to everyone, "and the other is yet another item made by Hermes Familia's own Perseus", and, like Tsubaki, Asfi, who was wearing a blue dress, also politely waved at the crowd.

"This dagger is made of a material that will only withstand three blows before breaking completely. In other words, it's a joke weapon!", Ganesha bellowed, and everyone laughed at this.

Now, this was of course a horrible giveaway.

But gods loved seeing someone getting the shorter end of a stick, so it was, in parts, even more welcome than all the good prizes.

"Since this is a pair of weapons, we thought it would be funnier to give this to two different people. Without telling them which is which, of course", Ganesha said, "naturally, because of the nature of one of those blades, we highly recommend bringing a secondary weapon if one is to take this weapon to the dungeon".

The gods whistled at that first part, not really caring for the second.

"Also, for this one, the crane will be picking two tickets!", and the crane went and burrowed itself under the pile of tickets, twisting and turning for a few seconds.

This fired up the crowd a bit more. This was the last chance to win something here.

The crane exits the cauldron, and drops the last two tickets.

"And so, let's start! The first winner is...Requiem, from Artemis Familia! She only got one ticket, ladies and gents, and yet she has got it!".

The red haired walked up to the podium and, after bowing to the god and to the spectators, stood in a place near one of the boxes.

"And for the second weapon, the winner is...".

Most gods had stopped listening at this point, choosing to look at the beautiful adventurer on the podium.

Some of them started to think of ways to make her switch to their Familias

One pointed look from Artemis was all it took to take this idea out of their minds.

"My, my, that's a surprise! The boy who also only bought one ticket lucked out, folks! Bell Crannel, from Hestia Familia, is the winner of the second weapon".

The white haired boy walked to the podium, red with embarrassment from all the eyes on him.

He greeted the red haired girl again.

"Hey there".

"Hello. Seems like we both won in the end".

"Y-yeah, seems so".

Ganesha looks towards both of them.

"You may now choose your boxes!".

"Would you like to choose first?", she offered.

"No no no, you were called first, you should be the one to choose first".

Requiem smiles slightly.

"Well then, I choose the one on the left", she says, grabbing it.

"Then I'll get the one on the right", he gets his box.

"Aren't they cute, everyone?", Ganesha says, earning laughs and whistles from all the ballroom.

Bell was severely red, again.

Requiem had a small blush.

Hestia and Lili were not amused.

'Not another one', they lowered their heads.

Aiz only applauded, not hearing the god's little joke.

And so the evening ended.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Outside the ballroom, in a lovely balcony, a silhouette stood alone, basked in moonlight.

This little spot was quite a catch for the person. Here, she could be at her own without anyone getting too close or too noisy in her conversations.

Yes, Loki sure loved it.

"So, Hermes, did you get the info I asked for?", she asked aloud, not even looking towards the deity who was just going through the door.

Also, this place was amazing for secluded conversations, especially since the lottery was just ending, so everyone who didn't win were even more attentive than before, meaning they wouldn't realize two very mischievous gods were missing.

"Of course, Loki, what do you think of me?", the man, responded, and if the goddess heard a bit of anger in his statement, she overlooked it.

'Never bite into Hermes's bait', she reminded herself.

Turning towards the god, she smiled slightly.

"Then...is she really what we thought she was?", Loki asked, curious.

During the siege of Orario, a little Intel happened to fall into Loki's lap, and being the always curious deity she was, Hermes's services were quickly enlisted.

Hermes waits no time to answer.

"It appears so".

Loki smiles maliciously.

"Seems like our little Requiem has been keeping one big secret".

Hermes smiles just as maliciously.

"This got a lot more interesting".

Both gods then look at the red haired girl, who was lifting a small box and had a small blush on her face.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

On the way out, Bell was chatting happily with his Familia, his prize safely secured in his left hand.

"Good on you to win something, Bell! You're the ONLY ONE who did!", Lili says, disdainfully eyeing a certain red haired smith.

"I told you, it counts!", Welf shot back.

"And I told you, it doesn't!".

Hestia only laughed, and Haruhime and Mikoto were chatting to themselves at this point.

They walked for a bit until they saw three figures at the mansion's entrance.

"Arty!", Hestia shouted, and all three figures turned to see them.

One of those had a box identical to Bell's on her right hand.

"So they are Artemis Familia, huh?".

"Well, two of them, at least".

"Hey, Hestia. Hello everyone", the goddess greeted.

Everyone bowed to Artemis.

"So, fun night, huh?".

"It sure was. I'd like to do that again sometime".

"Well, stick around for some time and we will".

"I mean, I have to be here for a while longer because we're running out of weapons and we're also waiting for a portion of our Familia to get here, so sure!".

"Awesome!".

Hestia then remembers something.

"Bell, why don't you ask Artemis now?", Hestia said.

"Huh?".

"You know, for the rescuing. You said you wanted to ask about the red haired lady".

"...".

'I totally forgot!', he berated himself.

"Don't tell me you forgot, Bell? You said that right before we left the manor!", Welf joked.

"I-I-I...", Bell stutters.

Everyone laughs.

"It's alright Bell, no harm done", Artemis says, still giggling, "so how about you do it now?".

"Thank you", he says, and then starts, "goddess Artemis, I'd like to thank a member of your Familia who saved me and my friends. All I remember is that she had red hair. Can you perhaps pass this message for me?".

"Red hair? The only one with red hair that was with us...".

"Is her", Faye points at Requiem.

Everyone from Hestia's Familia sweatdrops.

'She was with you on the stage and you still didn't know it was her?', was the general thought.

Requiem, though, has a puzzled look on her face.

"I don't think it's me, I don't remember saving anyone with white hair".

"Well, Bell's hair was really red from all the blood, so perhaps you didn't notice?", Haruhime said.

"Well, now that you said that, other than the hair, there was a person that really sounded and looked like him".

Now it was time for Artemis and Faye to laugh.

'They are too adorable'.

The boy smiles and turns to Requiem.

"Requiem, thank you so much for saving me and my friends! I am in your debt! If there's anything I can do for you, please, do not hesitate to tell me!", he said, a little too loudly.

Artemis looks at Bell, slightly puzzled.

'Requiem?', she wonders.

"Anything?", she asks.

"Yes!".

"Then, would you take me to the dungeon with you next time?".

"Now, now...", Artemis starts, before being cut off.

"I accept!", Bell's says.

"Really?", the girls asks back, a small glimmer in her eyes.

"Sure, we'll be going to the dungeon in two days, so if goddess Artemis allows it, then you're more than welcome to join in!", he smiles.

The girl turns to her goddess.

"My lady, can I?".

"I don't know...", Artemis said, "I don't want to inconvenience them".

"It'll be no inconvenience whatsoever, Arty", Hestia said, "plus, we'll get to hang out together!".

"I'd very much like to hang out, Hestia, but...".

"Hmm, goddess Artemis", Bell speaks, drawing everyone's attention, "I promise that, this time, I'll be the one to protect her, so please, allow Requiem to go with us!".

Artemis smiles at this.

"Well, if you're gonna propose like that, then I guess I can't say no, right?".

Requiem smiles wide.

"Yes, I knew that you were cool deep down, Arty!", Hestia jumped, excited.

She didn't like the way Bell proposed, but that was Bell in a nutshell. He had a way of saying the right thing the wrong way.

"What do you mean, deep down?", she says to herself.

Bell approaches the girl.

"We'll see each other on the entrance to the dungeon the day after tomorrow, at six in the morning, ok?".

She smiles.

"Okay, I'll be ready".

And so the Hestia Familia left, leaving Artemis, Requiem and Faye at the mansion's door while they waited for their carriage back.

"Hey", Artemis says, poking Requiem in the cheek.

"Yes, my lady?".

"Why did Hestia's boy called you Requiem?".

"Now that you mention it, that was the name in which you were called when you won that", Faye pointed to the box in her hand, "why did you ask them to call you that?".

"Well, for the prize, I didn't get to write my name, goddess Loki wrote it for me", she says, holding one of her fingers up, "and when I was about to say it to Bell, god Hermes called me Requiem and I assume Bell just thought that was my name".

"That's...odd, don't you think, goddess?", Faye said, suspicious.

Artemis nodded.

"It sure is", the goddess agreed.

They stood silent for a bit before Faye spoke again.

"But good on you, Red! Bell said that he would protect you!", she said, sweetly.

Requiem sighed.

"First, stop calling me that. Second, I don't need protection. I'm our Familia's captain, after all", she said matter of factly.

"Yeah, but that was pretty bold", Faye said, a small smile on her lips, "not many people go around saying they will protect a level three".

Requiem huffed, but had a bit of red on her cheeks.

Their carriage finally arrived and the matter was dropped, but Artemis kept that bit of info she learned on her mind.

'They purposefully covered her name for the public', Artemis thought, 'what cold their intentions possibly be?'.

Artemis knew of those two gods knack for trickery and deception from Tenkai.

But for the life of her, she couldn't understand what they found in her child's name that was so important. So much so that no one else should know it.

'Maybe I'll pay Loki a visit', Artemis thought.

The goddess didn't like this scenario in which someone appeared to know more than her about one member of her Familia. Her captain, no less.

With her head full, she looked up at the moon.

'This is gonna be a stressful week'.


End file.
